Daily Archives: April 2, 2015

Former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner exercises her Fifth Amendment right not to speak about the IRS targeting investigation before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee during a hearing in the Rayburn House Office Building March 5, 2014 in Washington, DC. Chip Somodevilla, Getty Images

The U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia will not seek contempt charges against former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner for her refusal to testify before Congress, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced Wednesday.

It has been nearly a year since the House voted to hold Lerner in contempt in a mostly party-line vote. At the time, the charges were referred to the local U.S. attorney. The Justice Department officially informed House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, of U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen's decision in a letter sent to Boehner's office Tuesday.

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Insisting that she's "done nothing wrong," Lois Lerner, the IRS official in charge of the division that targeted conservative nonprofit groups fo...

"A team of experienced career prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office was assigned to carefully assess the referral. After extensive analysis, the team concluded that the House Committee followed proper procedures in notifying Ms. Lerner that it had rejected her claim of a Fifth Amendment privilege and gave her an adequate opportunity to answer the Committee's questions," the Justice Department said in a statement. "However, the team also concluded that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment privilege by making general claims of innocence. The Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense if she were prosecuted for contempt."

Congress' contempt vote stems from Lerner's appearances before the House Oversight Committee. At the start of one hearing in 2013, Lerner made an opening statement declaring her innocence before invoking her Fifth Amendment right. Republicans charge that by delivering her opening statement, she waived her rights against self-incrimination. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, and then the full House of Representatives, voted to hold Lerner in contempt for her refusal to testify on March 5, 2014.

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DOJ: No contempt charges against Lois Lerner

Updated at 4:33 p.m. ET

The Justice Department will not pursue criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, who was at the center of a political storm over the agency's alleged targeting of conservative groups. The announcement came from Ronald Machen, the outgoing U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, to House Speaker John Boehner. (The letter is embedded at the bottom of this story.)

Here's the background: Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014. But Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who headed that panel, said at the time that Lerner had waived that right by making an opening statement at a May 2013 hearing in which she proclaimed her innocence in short opening remarks.

The House voted later in 2014 to hold Lerner in criminal contempt. Machen's office was examining the case and, in the letter dated March 31, he disagreed with Issa's interpretation.

"Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment privilege by making general claims of innocence," his office said in a statement. "The Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense if she were prosecuted for contempt."

Wednesday's announcement grants a reprieve to the former IRS official, who at the time of the controversy led the agency's division that oversees tax-exempt groups. William Taylor, her attorney, said in a statement: "We are gratified but not surprised by today's news."

But as Politico notes, she and other officials from the Internal Revenue Service are still under investigation by the FBI for the IRS' targeting of conservative groups.

As NPR's Mark Memmott reported at the time: "[A] report ... concluded some conservative groups had been 'deliberately targeted.' (Democrats have released IRS documents showing liberal groups also came in for extra scrutiny.) A political furor erupted, eventually leading to the resignation of the agency's acting director. Lerner retired from the agency later in the year."

You can read the letter in full here:

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Justice Department Won't Charge IRS' Lois Lerner With Criminal Contempt

Ex-Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner, a central figure in the IRStargeting scandal, will not face criminal contempt charges for refusing to testify about the matter before a House oversight committee last year.

Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a letter this week to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that he would not bring a criminal case against Lerner, who headed the IRSs exempt-organizations division when the agency inappropriately selected nonprofit advocacy groups for extra scrutiny based on their names and policy positions.

The former officialacknowledged the agencys mistakes at a legal conference in May 2013, days beforethe release of a scathing inspector generals report about the issue.

[Related: Investigators probing for criminal activity with Lois Lerners missing e-mails]

The House approved a contempt resolutionagainst Lernerin May 2014, after she invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify during a hearing with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The panels then-chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), insisted that shewaived the right by asserting her innocence during an opening statement.

Machen disagreed with Issa, saying Lerner made only general claimsof innocence and that the Constitution would provide her withan absolute defense should she be prosecuted.

Lerners attorney, William Taylor III, applauded the decision in a statement Wednesday. Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights, he said. It is unfortunate that the majority party in the House put politics before a citizens constitutional rights. Ms. Lerner is pleased to have this matter resolved and looks forward to moving on with her life.

Boehners office criticized the decision and called on the White House to appoint a special counsel to review the IRSs actions.

Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement on Wednesday. But unaccountable federal bureaucrats using their power to attack the First Amendment strikes at the heart of our democracy, and the American people deserve the truth.

Aside from the contempt issue, the Justice Department has beeninvestigating the IRS for possible criminal activities related to the targeting matter since May 2013, when Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the probe. On Wednesday, the agency said it is working to complete the review as expeditiously as possible.

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Federal Eye: Justice Department will not seek contempt charges against Lois Lerner

File: May 22, 2013: Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner is sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C.(AP)

The Justice Department has declined to pursue contempt of Congress charges against Lois Lerner for refusing to testify about her role at the IRS in the targeting of conservative groups.

The department announced the decision in a letter Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner, whose Republican-controlled chamber made the request to prosecute, after holding Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify at committee hearings.

"Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told FoxNews.com.

Lerner asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege, which allows people to not testify against themselves, during a May 2013 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and then again at a March 2014 hearing.

However, House Republicans argued Lerner waived the privilege with an opening statement she made before the committee in the May 2013 appearance. All the chambers Republican members and six Democrats officially voted in May 2014 to hold Lerner in contempt.

Ron Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in the seven-page letter that federal prosecutors concluded Lerner did not waive her privilege because she made only general claims of innocence during the opening statement.

Thus, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense should be prosecuted for her refusal to testify, wrote Machen, who was appointed to the U.S. attorney post by President Obama and left for private practice Wednesday, one day after sending the letter.

He also said he will not refer the case to a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute.

Lerner ran the IRSs exempt organizations unit when Tea Party and other nonprofit groups with conservative names applying for tax-exempt status were targeted for additional auditing from April 2010 to April 2012.

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Feds won't purse contempt charges against Lerner for not testifying before House

The Obama administration informed Capitol Hill this week that it wont prosecute former IRS executive Lois G. Lerner for contempt of Congress, concluding that she did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions when she was called to testify nearly two years ago.

Ms. Lerner, the figure at the center of the IRS tea party targeting scandal, is still facing investigation over the intrusive scrutiny of conservative groups, but the decision by U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen does away with at least some of her legal jeopardy.

Still, Republicans were furious with the decision by Mr. Machen, who issued it on Tuesday, his final day in office before returning to the private sector, saying it raises major questions over the separation of powers and heightens tensions between President Obama and the GOP-led House that voted to hold Ms. Lerner in contempt.

For her part Ms. Lerner, through her lawyer, sounded a triumphant note.

We are gratified but not surprised by todays news, said William W. Taylor III, who has handled Ms. Lerners defense. Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights. It is unfortunate that the majority party in the House put politics before a citizens constitutional rights.

The House Oversight Committee had tried to question Ms. Lerner about the tea party targeting soon after it was revealed in May 2013. Ms. Lerner, a longtime federal bureaucrat, attended the hearing, delivered an opening statement professing her innocence, and then declined to answer any of the panel members questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Republicans on the committee said her opening statement amounted to a waiver of those rights, saying she shouldnt be allowed to have her say and then refuse to be cross-examined by committee members.

But Mr. Machen said making a general statement of innocence did not amount to testimony about the actual facts, so Ms. Lerner was in the clear.

The Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense if she were prosecuted for contempt, Mr. Machen said in a statement.

Perhaps just as important as his decision not to prosecute was Mr. Machens defense of his ability to make such a decision in the first place.

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IRS's Lois Lerner won't be charged with contempt

SAM HANANEL, Associated Press 5:33 p.m. EDT April 1, 2015

Lois Lerner, ex-director of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division at the IRS, declines to answer questions from Rep. Darrell Issa.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department won't seek criminal contempt charges against Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of a controversy over how the agency treated conservative political groups.

Ronald Machen, the outgoing U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced the decision in a March 31 letter to House Speaker John Boehner that was made public on Wednesday.

The GOP-controlled House had referred the case to federal prosecutors after lawmakers voted last year to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress for her refusal to testify before a pair of committee hearings.

Lerner directed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. She set off a political firestorm in 2013 when she disclosed that agents had improperly singled out applications from tea party and other conservative groups for extra, sometimes burdensome scrutiny.

An inspector general's report found no evidence of a political conspiracy, instead blaming poor management at the agency. But many Republicans in Congress remain skeptical.

Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions at a hearing before the House Oversight Committee. But House Republicans claim she waived her constitutional right by delivering an opening statement in which she declared her innocence.

In his letter, Machen said a team of "experienced career prosecutors" determined that Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights by making "general claims of innocence."

Machen, whose last day in office was Wednesday, said prosecutors concluded that it would not be appropriate to send contempt charges to a grand jury because the Constitution protects her.

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Justice Dept.: No contempt charges for Lois Lerner

AP Photo

She is still under investigation for a separate tea party targeting matter.

By John Bresnahan and Rachael Bade

4/1/15 2:16 PM EDT

Updated 4/1/15 5:09 PM EDT

The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups.

Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerners refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014. The House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner in May 2014, and Machens office has been reviewing the issue since then.

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Lerner and other IRS officials, however, are still under investigation by the FBI for the tea party targeting matter which is a separate probe entirely.

Lerner cited her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself during congressional testimony on March 5, 2014, although then-Oversight Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said she had waived that right by giving an opening statement at a hearing 10 months earlier when she asserted her innocence. Issa wanted her charged by the Justice Department with criminal contempt of Congress for failing to answer questions about her role in the scandal.

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DOJ: No contempt charges for former IRS official Lerner

The Department of Justice will not charge former IRS official Lois Lerner for contempt, despite an attempt by members of the House of Representatives to charge her for refusing to testify during a hearing about whether the department unfairly targeted conservative fundraising groups.

Although the House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner last year for invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a Congressional hearing a right that then-Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said that she had waived prior to the hearing Politico reports that Ronald Machen, the former former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, will not file said charges against Lerner.

According to Machen, Lerner, who said that she was innocent in a hearing ten months prior to her citing the Fifth Amendment, was still well within her rights to plead the fifth:

Machen said the Oversight Committee followed proper procedures in telling Lerner that it had rejected her claim of privilege and gave her an adequate opportunity to answer the Committees questions. IRS watchdog probing potential criminal activity in Lerner email mess

However, Machen said Justice Department lawyers determined that Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment right by making an opening statement on May 22, 2013, because she made only a general claims of innocence.

Machen added: Given that assessment, we have further concluded that it is not appropriate for a United States Attorney to present the matter to the grand jury for action where, as here, the Constitution prevents the witness from being prosecuted for contempt.

Lerners lawyer welcomed the results, saying that Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights, and that his client was pleased to have this matter resolved.

[Politico] [Image via screenshot/CSPAN]

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DOJ Wont Charge Lois Lerner for Contempt of Congress

File: May 22, 2013: Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner is sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C.(AP)

The Justice Department has declined to pursue contempt of Congress charges against Lois Lerner for refusing to testify about her role at the IRS in the targeting of conservative groups.

The department announced the decision in a letter Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner, whose Republican-controlled chamber made the request to prosecute, after holding Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify at committee hearings.

"Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told FoxNews.com.

Lerner asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege, which allows people to not testify against themselves, during a May 2013 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and then again at a March 2014 hearing.

However, House Republicans argued Lerner waived the privilege with an opening statement she made before the committee in the May 2013 appearance. All the chambers Republican members and six Democrats officially voted in May 2014 to hold Lerner in contempt.

Ron Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in the seven-page letter that federal prosecutors concluded Lerner did not waive her privilege because she made only general claims of innocence during the opening statement.

Thus, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense should be prosecuted for her refusal to testify, wrote Machen, who was appointed to the U.S. attorney post by President Obama and left for private practice Wednesday, one day after sending the letter.

He also said he will not refer the case to a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute.

Lerner ran the IRSs exempt organizations unit when Tea Party and other nonprofit groups with conservative names applying for tax-exempt status were targeted for additional auditing from April 2010 to April 2012.

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