Exclusive: Lois Lerner breaks silence

A rather insightful look into Louis Lerner in this long piece from Politico. I would believe this is likely part of a PR strategy to clean up her image and I wouldn't doubt she'll be writing a book soon. We learn some interesting details of her life that I don't think any of us knew before, get an inside look into her personality, politics, and a different side then what has been painted of her since the scandal. I thought Politico did a good job at 'getting inside Lerner's life' while balancing the story with facts that have emerged from the scandal.

The story doesn't change my opinion of her, which isn't about who she is but rather what she did. It is perplexing how a woman who has had her career that the story points out and was nearly about to retire, could conduct the utter non-thinking, irresponsible, and outright dumb actions that she did. While her guilt has not been proven, her actions that created the scandal, those leading up to it breaking, and following, as the same with the IRS in general, and some of the information that has come out are highly suspicious.
Exclusive: Lois Lerner breaks silence

Employers won’t hire her. She’s been berated with epithets like “dirty Jew.” Federal agents have guarded her house because of death threats. And she’s spent hundreds of thousands of dollars defending herself against accusations she orchestrated a coverup in a scandal that has come to represent everything Americans hate about the IRS.

Lois Lerner is toxic — and she knows it. But she refuses to recede into anonymity or beg for forgiveness for her role in the IRS tea party-targeting scandal.

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Lerner said in her first press interview since the scandal broke 16 months ago. “I’m proud of my career and the job I did for this country.”

Moderator note: trimmed long quote. Posting work written by others. **ALL MEMBERS READ**

I thought this part near the end was very interesting ...

As head of the division where it all began, Lerner certainly bears some of the blame for the selective scrutiny of tea party applications, and numerous emails understandably raise eyebrows.

Emails released by Congress suggest Lerner knew about the tea party groups being flagged in 2010 and put a stop to the inappropriate “be on the lookout” criteria right when she learned about it in summer 2011. But she didn’t follow up to ensure agents stopped using politically charged words. They actually went right back to the practice.

She also seemed well aware that these groups had been waiting for years to get an answer from the IRS. As early as mid-2011, she asked IRS lawyers how to get the applications wrapped up.

Moderator note: trimmed long quote. Posting work written by others. **ALL MEMBERS READ**

a reply to: AllSourceIntel

Lois Lerner is toxic — and she knows it. But she refuses to recede into anonymity or beg for forgiveness for her role in the IRS tea party-targeting scandal. “I didn’t do anything wrong,” Lerner said in her first press interview since the scandal broke 16 months ago. “I’m proud of my career and the job I did for this country.”

All I can say is "I claim my 5th amendment rights".

This piece is obviously designed to show people how she is not guilty, just incompetent.

Yeah, right.

What Lerner did ... was un-American. She abused a position of trust and responsibility in a manner befitting the most talented Nazis of Hitler's high command. The sheer arrogance of that beezatcher causes hatred to well up inside of me that is almost uncontrollable.

If something untoward happened to her, I could probably be found willingly standing in line to relieve myself on her grave.

The last government official who made me feel this much anger was Janet Reno ... and that's saying something.

originally posted by: bbracken677
This piece is obviously designed to show people how she is not guilty, just incompetent.

Yes and No. I think Politico designed it to give the public a different view of Lerner, one that we surely have not gotten. I thought the story was pretty balanced though I can see some of that spin in there, especially toward the end.

However, most people barely read half of the first page so it being designed to show her as incompetent rather than guilty (and she could be either, guilt has not been proven despite the highly suspicious and dubious nature of information) factor isn't all that strong, but plausible.

I have a firm belief and deep suspicions she has hired a PR firm that sought outlets for an exclusive interview as the first step to repair her image, it's a classic strategy in the PR game. The very first part of the story that most readers will see and then stop reading is all about her lovable and generous character traits leading me to believe this. Like I said, I smell a book on its way and she is looking to make money.

Politico likely just wanted the exclusive.

a reply to: AllSourceIntel

This quote from the OP thread is enough for me to forget the whole interview"

“I didn’t do anything wrong,” Lerner said in her first press interview since the scandal broke 16 months ago. “I’m proud of my career and the job I did for this country.”

But even mass murders claim innocence these days, why not this person? Still, nothing she will say has any value until she will manup and admit to her excesses. ...And that ain't gonna happen soon if at all.

a reply to: AllSourceIntel

Umm...all I can say is:

"I plead the 5th".

That's all I need to know about her guilt or innocence. Innocent people do not plead the 5th.

originally posted by: bbracken677
a reply to: AllSourceIntel

Umm...all I can say is:

"I plead the 5th".

That's all I need to know about her guilt or innocence. Innocent people do not plead the 5th.

People plead the 5th all the time and if you are questioned for something, especially serious, it is stupid not to until you get a lawyer. "Innocent people do not plead the 5th" is as an asinine statement and belief as "so what if they are gathering my information, I don't have anything to hide." One might be innocent of the crime in question and be charged on something else that they might let slip out, and the kicker, it might be something they don't even realize they were guilty of ... You Commit Three Felonies a Day and You May Think You Have Nothing to Hide … But You Are Still Breaking Laws Which Government Spying Could Discover and Use Against You

There was this one time some friends and I went to a restaurant. We pulled in and next to another car at the same and seconds later cops blocked in and busted the people in that car for drug dealing that they were investigating. They took me and my friends as well because the "timing and proximity was suspicious." I told them I was invoking my right to remain silent until I had a lawyer present, asked if I was being arrested, if they had anything to hold me, or if I was free to go ... we all left 10 minutes later. Was I innocent, yes. Why did I invoke my 5th? Because I knew I was innocent, I knew they didn't have a leg to stand on, and what I was doing was none of their business.

a reply to: FlyersFan
Yeah, I really don't care either, just thought it was a little interesting and wanted to call it out as a PR strategy/campaign.

If our government will not do what is right for moral reasons, then they must be punished. Fear of getting jail time and assets seized is a step in the direction. These people have no fear and no sense of right.

originally posted by: searching411
If our government will not do what is right for moral reasons, then they must be punished. Fear of getting jail time and assets seized is a step in the direction. These people have no fear and no sense of right.

That my friend, is true.
...

a reply to: AllSourceIntel

Based on the dismal track record of Darrell Issa's House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, I'd bet good money that Lois Lerner is indeed innocent of all charges levied against her by that committee.

Darrell Issa, along with the other republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, have done nothing other than orchestrate one witch hunt after another over fabricated scandals that have yet to produce a single indictment or conviction. What an absolute waste of taxpayer dollars!

As Lawrence O'Donnell has repeatedly stated throughout this ordeal, the real scandal involving the IRS that led us to the situation we're in today happened in 1959 when someone in the Treasury Dept. unilaterally redefined the IRS statute governing 501(c)4s.

The "Real" scandal being; How does one individual in a non-elected position, come up with the authority to change the wording of an IRS statute written and adopted by Congress?

The actual IRS statute defines 501(c)4s as "Civic leagues or organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare."

Then, (as if the original statute was hard to understand) in 1959 someone in the treasury dept. issued a regulation for IRS employees to use as a guide for administering the statute to those applying for exemption under 501(c)4 status and it reads as follows; "To be operated exclusively to promote social welfare, an organization must operate primarily to further the common good and general welfare of the people of the community." Now how does that even make sense?

So in essence, every single 501(c)4 in existence today that has spent one dime on anything other than activities devoted "Exclusively to promote social welfare," are in violation of the actual IRS statute as written and adopted by Congress.

a reply to: AllSourceIntel

The right to remain silent and the 5th are 2 subtly different things, but I get your point.

I did not see anyone else invoking the 5th. The Miranda ruling is advising people of their rights under the 5th, to avoid self-incrimination. However, once one has been advised and once one has representation (which she did) the implication becomes a different one.

My opinion (for what it is worth) stands, that under the circumstances, her invoking the 5th implies strongly of wrong-doing.

I think it's an amazing coincidence that with every new subpoena come a new wave of hard drive crashes......

Yeah Lerner is innocent and the IRS is totally honest and competent. /sarc

a reply to: Flatfish

So, in addtion to her pleading the 5th, all those computer hard drives breaking, as well as the supposed destruction of backed up files does not seem the least bit suspicious?

We are talking about our govt...you know, the one we trust so much? Whether Republican or Democrat, I do not trust them as far as I can throw them. There is too much smoke for there not to be some fire involved.

If it quacks like a duck, walks like a duck and swims like a duck, chances are it is a duck.

I would not be surprised to learn that the Republicans investigation into these matters and others find nothing because they are paid off with money, favors, or votes by the Dems. The investigations could be something as simple as a way to blackmail the Dems to get some political favor.

Any politician who opens his mouth is likely lying about something lol

I love how she compares herself to Jeffery Dahmer.

Her argument now is that she's not as bad as a serial killer.

a reply to: bbracken677

Eh; as I see it, the scandal was a series of bureaucratic issues blown-out-of-proportion by a sensationalist media desperate for a "scandal" to cover, by a republican house desperate to smear it's opponents, going on snipe hunts for months at a time despite not finding any real evidence.

a reply to: NonsensicalUserName

And that could very well be the case. Not outside the realm of the realistic in DC.

I have an issue with Lerner claiming the 5th, combined with the, oh so convenient, destruction of the hard drives of key players (including Lerner's).

Smells exactly like the missing portion of Nixon's tape. Smells of... coverup.

I was around when Watergate went down. At first it started small...then grew, but appeared to be leading to nothing. Then bam!

That also seemed to be much about nothing to some. To others it was clear that higher ups were involved. It turned out to be true. Watergate did not resolve itself overnight.....

a reply to: AllSourceIntel

It was her inability to keep her mouth shut before Congress that led to the issues she is having now (compounded them actually).

Trying to clean her image by speaking to the media while refusing to speak to Congress does not work.