IRS Scandal: Will Lois Lerner Be Held in Contempt?

[bsteadman]

What will Lois Lerner do at Wednesday’s Oversight hearing?

The Daily Caller
Patrick Howley, Political Reporter
3/5/2014

Excerpt:

Ex-IRS director of tax exempt organizations Lois Lerner will appear at Wednesday morning’s House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing at 9:30 a.m. in Room 2154 of the Rayburn House Office Building, The Daily Caller has confirmed.

At this point, California Rep. Darrell Issa’s Oversight Committee does not know for certain what Lerner will do.

Lerner’s attorney Bill Taylor, part of a legal team that has been negotiating for immunity for Lerner since at least September, has been trying to delay or prevent her from testifying. Taylor claimed that Lerner’s life has been threatened if she testified. TheDC has independently verified Taylor’s claim. - (bold and color emphasis added)

After 10 months of the IRS conservative targeting scandal, and with the federal criminal investigation into the matter largely considered a joke, the case now hinges on Lerner’s testimony — and on whether Issa can get her to talk. Here are the ways Wednesday’s hearing could go down:

1. She asks for a one-week delay and Issa grants it

House Oversight members are open to granting Lerner a one-week delay. It is unclear what the delay would accomplish for either side. Emails show that Lerner has expressed willingness to testify in a private deposition even without immunity, but Issa wanted her to appear at the public hearing.

“I can tell you that we can probably move forward if the committee agrees that her appearance at a deposition would satisfy any obligation she has or would have to provide information in connection with this investigation,” Taylor said.

2. She tries to plead the Fifth and Issa holds her in contempt of Congress

Taylor said that Lerner plans to continue to try to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights. But Oversight previously determined that Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights when she made a statement attesting to her innocence at a May 2013 hearing.

House Oversight members Reps. Jim Jordan and Jason Chaffetz recently said that they are considering holding Lerner in contempt of Congress if she does not adequately testify about the targeting.

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View the complete article at:

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/05/wh...sight-hearing/

[bsteadman]

Darrell Issa angrily adjourns Oversight hearing after Lois Lerner pleads the Fifth

The Daily Caller
Patrick Howley
3/5/2014

Excerpt:

California Rep. Darrell Issa adjourned a divisive House Oversight hearing Wednesday after IRS official Lois Lerner pleaded the Fifth Amendment and refused to answer his questions.

“Seeking the truth is the obligation of this committee,” Issa said before announcing that he had no expectation that Lerner would answer his questions and adjourning the hearing.

Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment on each question Issa asked about the agency’s targeting of conservative groups. The hearing lasted approximately fifteen minutes before Issa released Lerner.

Issa began the hearing by explaining that Lerner previously waived her Fifth Amendment rights in a May 2013 hearing and that “the committee may proceed to consider whether she be held in contempt.”

Issa did not choose to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress on the floor of the hearing. It is unclear at this time if he will choose to pursue contempt charges.
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View the complete article at:

http://dailycaller.com/2014/03/05/da...ads-the-fifth/

[bsteadman]

Issa Walks Out Of IRS Scandal Hearing As Cummings Calls Proceedings ‘Un-American’

CBS Local - Washington DC
Benjamin Fearnow
3/5/2014

Excerpt:

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) – A House hearing on the IRS targeting of conservative groups erupted into an argument between Rep. Elijah Cummings and House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa just moments after former IRS official Lois Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify in regards to her role in the tax scrutiny scandal.

The spat began as Rep. Issa, R-Calif., stood up to adjourn the hearing, but Rep. Cummings requested to ask a “procedural question.” While making a statement, Issa asked Cummings to yield when the Maryland Democrat became incensed at the California Republican.

“Mr. Chairman, you cannot run a committee like this,” Cummings appealed.

“If you will sit down and allow me to ask a question,” Cummings insisted. “I am a member of a Congress of the United States of America.”

“I am tired of this,” Cummings continued, as Issa signaled to have his microphone cut off. “You cannot just have a one-sided investigation. There is absolutely something wrong with that, and it is absolutely un-American.”

“We had a hearing. It was adjourned,” Issa responded. “I gave you an opportunity to ask your questions. You had no questions.”

“I do have questions,” Cummings replied, as Issa walked out of the hearing. “Chairman, what are you hiding?”

The argument between Cummings and Issa broke out moments after IRS official Lois Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify about her role in singling out conservative groups for excessive tax scrutiny. Issa and Lerner’s attorneys have continued to debate whether she is still protected from testifying after giving a statement during the previous hearing.

“On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully exercise my Fifth Amendment right and decline to answer that question,” Lerner said in response to multiple questions.

However, emails obtained by Fox News revealed that an attorney for Lerner negotiated whether or not she would testify.

After the outburst and abrupt end to the hearing, Issa told reporters that Cummings had “slandered him,” and accused him of seeking a “convenient truth” rather than following the investigative process.

“He was talking into a mic in an adjourned meeting,” Issa told reporters. “The fact is Mr. Cummings came to make a point of his objections to the process we have been going through. He was actually slandering me at the moment that the mics did go off by claiming that this had not been a real investigation.”

“Just because Mr. Cummings would like to have a more convenient truth, doesn’t give him the right to make a speech,” Issa added.
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View the complete article at:

http://washington.cbslocal.com/2014/...s-un-american/

[bsteadman]

Issa to Megyn Kelly: Cummings Threw a ‘Hissy Fit,’ Racist Accusation Beneath Response

Mediaite
Josh Feldman
3/6/2014

Excerpt:

House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa joined Megyn Kelly Thursday night to react to the uproar over him cutting off Elijah Cummings‘ mic during a contentious IRS hearing, saying that accusations he was “racist” are just “beneath response.”

Issa suggested Cummings’ outburst was a “pre-staged event,” but Kelly asked, “Who cares? Let him have his couple of minutes to rip on you! You’re a big guy, you can take it!” He acknowledged that in hindsight, he might have let Cummings rant, but it’s completely unjustified for any member of Congress to try and get his chairmanship revoked over the incident when it was Cummings who, in Issa’s words, “had quite a hissy fit.”

Issa said, “We’re all human, it was a long day,” and at the end of it, “he wasn’t denied any due response.” He also noted how Democrats never tried to hold anyone accountable when they ran the House.

The Kelly interview was pre-taped, so it’s unclear whether it was before or after this interview that Issa said he apologized to Cummings for his actions.

View the complete article, including video, at:

http://www.mediaite.com/tv/issa-to-m...eath-response/

[bsteadman]

Rep. Darrell Issa Apologizes to Cummings for Cutting Off Mic at IRS Hearing

Mediaite
Josh Feldman
3/6/2014

Excerpt:

Congressman Darrell Issa has officially apologized to colleague Elijah Cummings for cutting off his mic at the end of a contentious IRS hearing on Wednesday. Following the heated exchange, Issa accused Cummings of “slandering” him, but Issa got quite a bit of pushback for how he conducted himself. Cummings noted separately today that some of Issa’s colleagues also offered apologies of their own.

But he now tells U-T San Diego that “he made a personal apology” to Cummings and acknowledges that in hindsight, “As chairman, I should have been much more sensitive to the mood of what was going on, and I take responsibility.”

Some House Democrats were so furious with Issa that some of them tried to push for the House to officially censure him, but the motion was tabled. The Congressional Black Caucus also demanded
that Issa be stripped of his chairmanship of the House Oversight Committee for being disrespectful to ranking member Cummings.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.mediaite.com/online/rep-d...t-irs-hearing/

[bsteadman]

Will Lois Lerner Be Held in Contempt?

FrontPage Mag
Matthew Vadum
3/7/2014

Excerpt:

As the Obama administration’s coverup of former IRS official Lois Lerner’s wrongdoings moves into high gear, Democrats are doing everything they can to direct public attention away from the scandal and tamp down growing calls for the president’s impeachment.

Lerner may soon be compelled to testify or be cited for contempt of Congress. After a hearing concluded Wednesday at which Lerner refused to answer questions, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-Ohio) indicated that Republicans are growing tired of the former IRS executive’s shenanigans. “At some point, I believe that she has to testify, or she should be held in contempt,” he told reporters.

Democrats are also desperate to use theatrics and sideshows to change the subject from the slow-motion 100-car pile up that is Obamacare. To make matters worse for Democrats, President Obama’s already low public approval ratings are cratering in a new Fox News poll whose results have been echoed in recent media-conducted polls.

Obama’s overall approval/disapproval numbers hit an all-time low of 38 percent to 54 percent. A mere 28 percent of Independents, 39 percent of women, and 38 percent of young voters gave the president a thumbs-up for his performance in office. When respondents were asked, “Do you think the country is better off than it was five years ago, or not?” just 34 percent answered yes, compared to 60 percent responding no.

At a Wednesday hearing of the House Government Reform Committee, Rep. Elijah Cummings (D-Md.), who has been dining out for a half century on his civil rights activism in the Sixties, pulled a well-publicized publicity stunt calculated to make committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) look mean-spirited.

The days when Cummings courageously stood up to oppressive government measures are long gone. Now he leads the charge on behalf of Big Brother and our increasingly out-of-control federal government.

At the hearing, which was a continuation of a hearing started last year, Issa asked witness Lois Lerner a series of questions about IRS targeting of conservative and Tea Party 501c4 nonprofit advocacy groups during the 2010 and 2012 election cycles. In what may ultimately turn out to be a tacit admission of wrongdoing, Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination each time, refusing to answer any questions.

Issa soon gave up. The chairman gaveled the proceedings to a close after saying it was clear that Lerner would not testify at the hearing that was convoked specifically for her testimony. In a gimmicky, premeditated act of political theater, Cummings then exploded at Issa, demanding an answer to a procedural query. Issa listened to Cummings but it was clear that the lawmaker was only interested in spewing pro-Obama administration propaganda, accusing Issa of conducting a one-sided investigation — of all things — of the improprieties at the IRS.

Cummings then said he had a question to ask but refused to actually state a question, preferring instead to use the opportunity to engage in grandstanding by making a statement for the media and low-information voters to lap up.

“We’re better than that as a country,” Cummings shouted indignantly during his televised temper tantrum. “We’re better than that as a committee,” he continued. As his microphone was muted, Cummings yelled, “I want to ask a question. What are we hiding? What’s the big deal?”

Of course Issa and House Republicans haven’t been hiding anything. It is the executive branch that has been doing the hiding. President Obama has laughably claimed that there was not even “a smidgen of corruption” in his administration’s handling of the IRS affair but anyone with eyes knows the Obama administration has been stonewalling and intimidating witnesses who know the ugly truth.
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View the complete article at:

http://www.frontpagemag.com/2014/mat...d-in-contempt/