Posted on 04/08/2014 8:25:27 PM PDT by smoothsailing
B. CHRISTOPHER AGEE — APRIL 8, 2014
Just days before she is set to face a contempt vote by the House Oversight Committee, Republicans in the chamber are drafting a series of criminal charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner.
According to recent reports, the House Ways and Means Committee is preparing a letter to be sent to Attorney General Eric Holder in hopes that his Justice Department will pursue three separate counts against the disgraced tax-exempt division director. A GOP source confirmed each of the allegations relate to her role in specifically targeting conservative groups for added scrutiny.
Lerner has been the most recognizable face of the ongoing controversy over the past year. After initially conceding that her department unfairly targeted organizations with a Tea Party affiliation, she has been notoriously tight-lipped in subsequent interrogations.
After repeatedly invoking her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa has repeatedly threatened her with contempt. On Thursday, a committee vote is set to determine whether she will be held in contempt of Congress.
The letter being drafted by the Ways and Means Committee, however, is a completely separate endeavor. Reports indicate the correspondence will only be available to committee members prior to its delivery to Holder because it contains substantial confidential information related to individual taxpayers. Democrats in the House will have an opportunity to propose amendments to the GOP’s draft.
Assuming the committee approves the letter, Holder will decide whether to pursue charges against the former official. Criticized by many conservatives for politicizing the Justice Department, a decision to hold Lerner accountable for potential criminal acts would likely earn him some much-needed credibility among his detractors.
Reports show the Justice Department did not respond to initial requests for comment on the matter.
In any event, Lerner faces an onslaught of Republican backlash for her department’s handling of conservative groups. Many feel, however, that she was just part of a much larger conspiracy to suppress anti-Obama sentiment ahead of the 2012 presidential election.
In order to determine exactly who commissioned the unjust targeting, Lerner must be compelled to completely and truthfully answer investigators’ questions. Issa’s ongoing campaign, culminating in Thursday’s contempt vote, is designed to do exactly that.
They will do as they are told ... and that doesn’t mean they will be listening to We The People.
According to recent reports, the House Ways and Means Committee is preparing a letter to be sent to Attorney General Eric Holder in hopes that his Justice Department will pursue three separate counts against the disgraced tax-exempt division director.
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And I just sent off an e-mail to Holder asking him to please deposit $1 million in my bank account. I expect to be just as successful as Ways and Means.
There is zero chance that Holder will move on any of this. While Obama is in office Democrats are above the law.
Now why on earth would Obama’s pet file charges against someone that his boss ordered to intimidate and harass his opponents, namely the Tea Party?
So it’ll be another three years or so before we get to the bottom of this?
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I don’t know if we’ll ever get to the bottom of it. You can take it to the bank that the corrupt Obama will be issuing a number of “generic” pardons (pardoning for “any crimes or acts” that may have been committed during the time of service to the Obama administration) to a LARGE number of his operatives scattered through out the government.
I think our only hope is for Gowdy to get her under oath again.. and make her plead the 5th 20 times in 5 minutes.
RATS will not welcome visions of those optics in ads for Nov elections.
Useless, a waste of time, and a diversion. Send the House Sergeant of Arms to arrest Learner immediately.
The Committee has the power to arrest her for contempt and put her in the Capitol jail.
They don’t have the stones to do so.
https://opencrs.com/document/RL34114/
“much needed credibility”??? Why do you think he needs or cares? Who writes this drivel? Yeah. Holder will prosecute. *major eye roll*
Yeh Eric will jump right on it. :-)
The Congress can only detain any member of the executive branch. The Sergeant-at-arms can hold them until the end of a session (recess?).
After Lerner’s and Holder’s shameful appearances at the hearings and contempt citation, what the Republicans should consider is, in addition to sending the criminal referrals on Lerner, to add a criminal referral on Holder (for “obvious obstraction of justice”) - this
a) cannot be possibly ignored by the media and
b) may immediately force Holder’s hand to be recused from Lerner’s “investigation” due to “conflict of interests” and
c) is more likely to result in appointment of Special Prosecutor, if GOP wants it.
This one move will force the issue and will make sure that the matter doesn’t die and can no longer be silenced or be obscured by the media in the period before 2014 elections.
This is somewhat similar to what Dems did to the AG Alberto Gonzales, only this will have a lot more gravitas and heft in the substance behind it. It will pretty much cripple Holder and the DOJ, will put pressure on Democratic Senators and may help give basis or reason for some people, who otherwise would be indifferent or apathetic, to vote for turnover of power in the Senate.
Wanna' buy a bridge..or a gold watch cheap?
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