Heat turned up on former IRS Official Lois Lerner

A House Congressional Committee has turned up the heat on former IRS Official Lois Lerner. The Committee voted to hold Ms. Lerner in Contempt of Congress, which is quite serious indeed.

Ms. Lerner has made statements that "I did nothing wrong" and "I did not break any laws", and "I did not break any rules",...but then invoked her 5th Amendment Rights to Not provide her sworn testimony "on the grounds that I may incriminate myself" as to inform the House Committee of exactly What she knows, and Who else may be involved in the targeting. As a result, the House Committee smells a "smoking gun", and are doing all they can to get to the facts and truth as it relates to the IRS targeting specific conservative groups. President Obama, when the scandal first broke, condemned such wrongful and unjust practices of the IRS, yet has since done little or nothing to assist in the process of fact finding. He has not even suggested that Ms. Lerner should cooperate in the investigation, which in and of itself raises some questions.

This is Not a partisan issue. This is an American issue. The IRS is arguably the most powerful agency in the U.S. Government. We the people deserve and are entitled to a non-partisan IRS that sees no party lines in its functioning responsibilities. We Must get to the Truth as to the Who, What and Why, and Ms. Lerner is clearly not cooperating with the investigation. There must be a reason for her refusal to cooperate, as common sense suggests that if she or others did not break any laws, or rules, and have indeed done nothing wrong, then there should be no reason to exercise her 5th Amendment rights for protecting herself from self-incrimination.

Let's here some thoughts from you, the American People..Conservatives and Liberals, Independents and otherwise. Should Ms. Lerner be held in contempt?

Story and Video link found here: www.worldmag.com...

reply to post by rickynews


Yes, this is a long awaited development. As I understand it, in legal terms, I believe she may have technically relinquished her right to not testify against herself by making a statement. Also, it isn't clear that, as a state official, she is afforded that right anyway since the issue at hand is access to information about a department that she managed. She certainly should not have been able to thumb her nose at the committee and retain her position and salary.

Contempt certainly and maybe more once we find out what actually has happened and/or is happening.

reply to post by greencmp


I agree, and I do believe we need to know, and any wrong-doing must be met with consequences. Nobody is above the law. If we stray from that principle, then all of us, regardless of our political persuasions or leanings will be adversely affected. Power shifts in Washington D.C., and those who hold power today will be ultimately be replaced as the election cycle, and thus appointees to positions of power ebbs and flows - and the tables turn on the opposite political parties. That is why this is important, and frankly dangerous should those who have positions of power not be held accountable, or want to otherwise hide the Truth from We the people.

The real question we face is, can we put our personal political loyalties aside, and unite as Americans, and make it clear that Any dubious and illegal behavior in positions of power will be dealt with severely and harshly. There is no benefit to any of us if we don't get to the Truth here.

Gonna scapegoat a peon to protect the higher ups. This reads like a House of Cards script.

reply to post by rickynews


The rules & the laws are different when it comes to testifying before Congress vs. other types of criminal proceedings - everything from questioning after arrest up through testifying in a trial.

She may very well have relinquished her right to invoke the 5th in this case, where as in all other cases (non-congressional testimony) one may invoke their 5th amendment rights at any time.

The penalties if invoked by Congress are also bizarre in that the person can only be held/incarcerated for the remaining duration of the sitting Congress, then they must be released.

And no, you can't make this sh#t up...

It will be interesting to see how this one plays out.

ScientiaFortisDefendit
Gonna scapegoat a peon to protect the higher ups. This reads like a House of Cards script.

edit on 11-4-2014 by ScientiaFortisDefendit because: (no reason given)

Yes, I want her bosses too but, I am just glad this is getting attention finally.

Just more naval gazing and partisan blabber.

They are not going to do anything.

Until we get a new Attorney General, Obama supporters can break no law.

whyamIhere
Just more naval gazing and partisan blabber.

They are not going to do anything.

Until we get a new Attorney General, Obama supporters can break no law.

If you are right, and you may be, then wouldn't you agree that this potentially and negatively affects all of us, and is an abuse of power ?

Obama knew, don't let them fool you.

Emails Show Lois Lerner Fed True the Vote Tax Information to Democrat Elijah Cummings

townhall.com... 247

New IRS emails released by the House Oversight Committee show staff working for Democratic Ranking Member Elijah Cummings communicated with the IRS multiple times between 2012 and 2013 about voter fraud prevention group True the Vote. True the Vote was targeted by the IRS after applying for tax exempt status more than two years ago. Further, information shows the IRS and Cummings' staff asked for nearly identical information from True the Vote President Catherine Engelbrecht about her organization, indicating coordination and improper sharing of confidential taxpayer information.

greencmp
reply to post by rickynews

 

Yes, this is a long awaited development. As I understand it, in legal terms, I believe she may have technically relinquished her right to not testify against herself by making a statement. Also, it isn't clear that, as a state official, she is afforded that right anyway since the issue at hand is access to information about a department that she managed. She certainly should not have been able to thumb her nose at the committee and retain her position and salary.

Contempt certainly and maybe more once we find out what actually has happened and/or is happening.

edit on 11-4-2014 by greencmp because: (no reason given)

Lois Lerner is a pawn. They've got her dead to rights. She's gonna roll over on a lot of big dogs ... or ... she's going to do some minor time and somebody's gonna dump some money from their Swiss Bank account into hers.

Either way ... the entrenched political groups extended their unwelcome stay and Americans, as a whole, took it up the wazoo.

reply to post by rickynews


This entire Administration has acted drunk with power.

This is why Bill Clinton called him an amateur.

He didn't even try to hide the fact he systematically destroyed his opponents.

He didn't even care if he got caught...He could always play the Race Card.

whyamIhere
reply to post by rickynews

 

This entire Administration has acted drunk with power.

This is why Bill Clinton called him an amateur.

He didn't even try to hide the fact he systematically destroyed his opponents.

He didn't even care if he got caught...He could always play the Race Card.

If what you say is true, and I have no reason to believe its not true..., then the question is: What are We the People going to do about it?

rickynews

whyamIhere
reply to post by rickynews

 

This entire Administration has acted drunk with power.

This is why Bill Clinton called him an amateur.

He didn't even try to hide the fact he systematically destroyed his opponents.

He didn't even care if he got caught...He could always play the Race Card.

If what you say is true, and I have no reason to believe its not true..., then the question is: What are We the People going to do about it?

Well, we methodically traverse the legal hurdles to depose everybody involved. It's actually very boring but, like in the Iran/Contra scandal, we will come away with a civilizational awareness about the untrustworthiness of government which will inform our future discussions.

Everything else is elections and town meetings.

reply to post by rickynews


Prepare for another Bush vs Clinton...

We are hopelessly locked in this two party charade.

We need a Leader.

whyamIhere
reply to post by rickynews

 

We need a Leader.

WOW!
In just four little words you summed up our entire problem here in the US.
We need a leader, someone honorable, someone trustworthy with a big set of brass balls.
Someone who will root out the corruption and hold people accountable.
Someone who does not make excuses or apologise for our country.
Someone who is a proud American and will uphold the Constitution.
And most importantly. .......

SOMEONE WHO IS BULLET PROOF. If not they wouldn't last 3 months.
Quad

If Lerner did nothing wrong ?

Then why did she 'plead the 5th'.

'innocent' people don't have to do that.

neo96
If Lerner did nothing wrong ?

Then why did she 'plead the 5th'.

'innocent' people don't have to do that.

That is precisely the well-founded suspicions that the House Committee has. Although Ms. Lerner does indeed have a Constitutional right to plea the 5th, her refusal to testify and answer questions can be found in the key words of her answers with regards to the 5th amendment, which are: " on the grounds that I may incriminate myself ". In other words, what Ms. Lerner is essentially saying (by pleading the 5th) is that " I am exercising my right to plea the 5th, because if I tell you the Truth, or answer your questions Truthfully while I am under oath, I am likely to incriminate both myself (and others) ".

If Ms. Lerner were to answer the House Committees questions Untruthfully or Lie while testifying to the House Committee, then she would assuredly face Felony Charges for Lying to Congress.