The former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the controversy over the agency’s targeting of conservative groups once again refused to answer questions at a House hearing Wednesday amid signs that a congressional investigation into the affair may be stalling.
Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that improperly singled out tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status during the 2010 and 2012 elections.
On Wednesday she was recalled to testify before the House Oversight Committee for the second time in a year.
But just like the first time, she declined to answer questions about her involvement. Appearing with her lawyer, Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment rights at least nine times in response to questions by committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif.
Later, Lerner’s lawyer told reporters she didn’t testify because “we completely lost confidence in the fairness and impartiality of the forum.”
“This matter has become polarized,” said the lawyer, William W. Taylor III. “It is completely partisan. There was no possibility, in my view, that Ms. Lerner would be given a fair opportunity to speak, to answer questions or to tell the truth.”
Taylor said the whole ordeal, which began last May when Lerner first disclosed the targeting at a Washington law conference, has been unsettling for his client. Lerner has received six death threats, by email and regular mail, Taylor said. They have been turned over to the FBI, he said.
Lerner was placed on administrative leave last spring, a few days after she first refused to answer questions at a congressional hearing. She retired in September.
After Wednesday’s hearing, Issa suggested his committee’s investigation may become stalled without Lerner’s testimony.
“At this point, roads lead to Ms. Lerner,” Issa said. Without her testimony, he said, “it may dead-end at Ms. Lerner.”
Two other congressional committees, the Justice Department and the IRS’s inspector general are also investigating. But to date, none has publicly released evidence that anyone outside the IRS directed the targeting or knew about it while it was happening.
“There still has not been any evidence of political motivation nor any evidence of the White House having anything to do with it,” said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Oversight Committee.
After Lerner declined to answer questions at Wednesday’s hearing, the proceedings devolved into political bickering between Issa and Cummings.
Issa adjourned the hearing despite attempts by Cummings to make a statement. At one point, Issa said, “Shut it down,” and Cummings’ microphone was turned off.
“Mr. Chairman, you cannot run from a meeting like this,” Cummings said, adding: “You just cannot do this. We’re better than that as a country. We’re better than that as a committee.”
Last year, the IRS’ inspector general released a yearlong audit that found agents had improperly targeted conservative political groups for additional and sometimes onerous scrutiny when those groups applied for tax-exempt status.
The IRS watchdog blamed ineffective management by senior IRS officials for allowing it to continue for nearly two years during the 2010 and 2012 elections.
IRS agents were reviewing tea party groups’ applications to determine the amount of political activity the groups were engaged in. Under IRS rules, groups applying for tax-exempt status under section 501(c)4 of the tax code can engage in politics but it cannot be their primary mission.
Since the revelations became public, much of the agency’s leadership has been replaced and the IRS has proposed new rules for handling applications from so-called social welfare organizations.
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