Posted on 05/22/2013 12:34:42 PM PDT by Second Amendment First
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa said embattled IRS official Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights and will be hauled back to appear before his panel again.
The California Republican said Lerner’s Fifth Amendment right to avoid self-incrimination was voided when she gave an opening statement this morning denying any wrongdoing and professing pride in her government service.
“When I asked her her questions from the very beginning, I did so so she could assert her rights prior to any statement,” Issa told POLITICO. “She chose not to do so — so she waived.”
Lerner triggered the IRS scandal on May 10 when she acknowledged that the agency wrongly targeted conservative groups applying for a tax exemption. Her lawyer told the House committee earlier this week that she would exercise her Fifth Amendment.
She appeared before Issa’s committee this morning under the order of a subpoena and surprised many by reading a strong statement to the panel.
“I have not done anything wrong,” she said. “I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations, and I have not provided false information to this or any other committee.”
Issa dismissed her from the committee room once it became clear she wouldn’t answer questions.
Lerner’s decision to speak at all immediately triggered a dust-up among lawmakers who were confused about whether she gave up her Fifth Amendment protections when she made an opening statement.
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a former federal prosecutor, said Lerner lost her rights the minute she started proclaiming her innocence, and that lawmakers therefore were entitled to question her. But Ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland said hearing rules were not like those of a courtroom.
During the incident, Issa did not flat-out say whether or not Lerner had indeed waived her rights but instead tried to coax her into staying by offering to narrow the scope of questions.
By the afternoon, Issa was taking a harder stand.
“The precedents are clear that this is not something you can turn on and turn off,” he told POLITICO. “She made testimony after she was sworn in, asserted her innocence in a number of areas, even answered questions asserting that a document was true … So she gave partial testimony and then tried to revoke that.”
He said he was not expecting that.
“I understand from her counsel that there was a plan to assert her Fifth Amendment rights,” he continued. “She went ahead and made a statement, so counsel let her effectively under the precedent, waive — so we now have someone who no longer has that ability.”
Like that is new? We both know they ignore us. We vote for their lesser evils no matter what they do. We proved that a few months back.
Look at the screaming fits when Newt discussed defunding depts in the primaries. They should. But they wont...for a reason. They want them.
Yup. Pretty much that exactly. Because the bowel movement is a lot worse!
I meant to type Gowdy. I wuz on a friend’s smart phone and have really fat thumbs and am too dumb to know how to easily go back and change one letter.
I've certainly noticed, esp. Miller and this Lerner bitch. Walking advertisements for abolishing the IRS.
After they are arrested, perps don't waive their fifth amendment rights by speaking except to the extent they speak. Answering one question does not cause a perp to waive their right to refuse subsequent questions.
That's the definition of getting rolled. Nothing that the lawyer said in private is actionable, but it set in motion a thought process in Issa that caused him to be caught off guard during the hearing. He fell for the misdirection. He was distracted by the left hand and didn't see what the right hand was doing.
Remember how Pelosi bragged about rolling Boehner over tax increases? Those optics are what the Democrats live for, and Issa gave them another theater today.
Republicans will always give the extra benefit of doubt, and Democrats will always know it and count on it, and then play it to their advantage.
-PJ
She’s in need of a new pair of Depends ? or Fruit of the Loom ?
Not only did she testify about how innocent she is, she also took a shot at the committee and then tried to go Fifth Amendment. She was coached to do that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=08fZQWjDVKE
Finally a Repub with some balls!!!!
Ha! Ha! Obama!...
I did not talk to cops.
A prosecutor in a courtroom asked questions to me that I refused to answer.
The case was dismissed.
Good for you. Prosecutors are no better than cops when it comes to convicting the innocent (see Nifong and that witch Corey).
That’s a fact. If you want to invoke, remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you, like saying you didn’t do anything illegal.
That’s testimony, and you can’t have it both ways.
I’m sort of amazed Issa had this planned, or was savvy enough to get this done.
Now, from here, she will have to listen to questions, and she can waive each time she wants to invoke.
If the questions are reasonable, it’s not going to play well on national TV for her to invoke before Congress. She hasn’t even been charged with anything yet, and she’s invoking.
Not good, since there’s no jury but the one of public opinion involved here.
The instant she said ,”I haven’t done anything wrong,” she opened the door to cross examination on that very point. That means she waived the privilege.
That's what I think. I'm pretty sure I remember Watergate hearings when they would be answering a string of questions and get to a subject matter where they would start taking the 5th. and then they'd answer other questions, and then take the 5th.
Besides our rights are not something we should be able to unintentionally waive. If all or nothing is current procedure in any court, then it should be incumbent on the court to explain the implications before someone testifies. We shouldn't have to be lawyers to retain our rights.
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