Finding Lois Lerner In Contempt Of Congress
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

, officially titled Recommending that the House of Representatives find Lois G. Lerner, Former Director, Exempt Organizations, Internal Revenue Service, in contempt of Congress for refusal to comply with a subpoena duly issued by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, was a
simple resolution In the United States, a simple resolution is a legislative measure passed by only either the Senate or the House of Representatives. As they have been passed by only one house, simple resolutions are not presented to the President, and do not have t ...
that passed in the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
during the
113th United States Congress The 113th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, from January 3, 2013, to January 3, 2015, during the fifth and sixth years of Presidency of Barack Obama, Barack Obama's presiden ...
. The resolution was in response to the testimony of Lois Lerner, a former
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting Taxation in the United States, U.S. federal taxes and administerin ...
(IRS) employee, who was at the center of the then-ongoing 2013 IRS controversy over the agency's targeting of selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status. The resolution held Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify at a congressional hearing.


Background

In 2013, the IRS revealed that it had selected political groups applying for tax-exempt status for closer scrutiny based on their names or political themes. This disclosure led to wide condemnation of the agency and triggered several investigations, including a
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic Intelligence agency, intelligence and Security agency, security service of the United States and Federal law enforcement in the United States, its principal federal law enforcement ag ...
(FBI) criminal probe ordered by
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general is the head of the United States Department of Justice and serves as the chief law enforcement officer of the Federal government of the United States, federal government. The attorney general acts as the princi ...
Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd United States attorney general from 2009 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, Holder was the first African Ameri ...
. Initial reports described the selections as nearly exclusively of
conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy and ideology that seeks to promote and preserve traditional institutions, customs, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civiliza ...
groups with terms such as "Tea Party" in their names. Further investigation revealed that liberal-leaning groups and the
Occupy movement The Occupy movement was an international populist Social movement, socio-political movement that expressed opposition to Social equality, social and economic inequality and to the perceived lack of real democracy around the world. It aimed primar ...
had also triggered additional scrutiny, but not at nearly the same rate as conservative groups. The only denial of tax-exempt status by the IRS was to a progressive group. The use of target lists continued through May 2013.IRS chief: Inappropriate screening was broad
''
The Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...
'', June 24, 2013
In early May 2013, the
Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) is an office in the United States Federal government. It was established in January 1999 in accordance with the Internal Revenue Service Restructuring and Reform Act of 1998 (RRA 98) ...
released an audit report confirming that the IRS used inappropriate criteria to identify potential political cases, including organizations with the term "
tea party A tea party is a social gathering event, typically held in the afternoon, featuring the consumption of tea and light refreshments. Social tea drinking rituals are observed in many cultures worldwide, both historically and in the present day. A ...
" in their names. On May 10, 2013, in advance of the public release of the audit findings, director of the IRS Exempt Organizations division
Lois Lerner Lois Gail Lerner (born October 12, 1950) is an American attorney and former United States federal civil service employee. She served as director of the Exempt Organizations Unit of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) in 2005, and subsequently beca ...
answered what was later revealed to be a planted question by stating that the IRS was "apologetic" for what she termed "absolutely inappropriate" actions. (Lerner's superior, then-Acting
IRS Commissioner The Commissioner of Internal Revenue is the head of the Internal Revenue Service (IRS), an agency within the United States Department of the Treasury. The office of Commissioner was created by Congress as part of the Revenue Act of 1862. Sectio ...
Steven Miller, later testified to Congress that he had discussed with Lerner how she was to make the revelation and apology, using a planted question at a meeting of the
American Bar Association The American Bar Association (ABA) is a voluntary association, voluntary bar association of lawyers and law students in the United States; national in scope, it is not specific to any single jurisdiction. Founded in 1878, the ABA's stated acti ...
rather than during an appearance two days earlier before the
United States House Committee on Ways and Means The Committee on Ways and Means is the chief tax-writing committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee has jurisdiction over all taxation, tariffs, and other revenue-raising measures, as well as a number of other progr ...
in Congress.) Lerner asserted that the extra scrutiny had not been centrally planned, and had been done by lower-level "front line people" in the Cincinnati office. Media reports soon revealed that IRS officials in two other regional offices had also been involved in scrutinizing conservative groups and that selected applicants said that they had been told their applications were being overseen by a task force in Washington, D.C. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration report showed that Lerner herself had been informed of the affair at a meeting that she had attended on June 29, 2011.AP Exclusive: IRS Knew Tea Party Targeted In 2011
npr.org, May 11, 2013
Following the Inspector General's report, the
United States House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is the main investigative United States congressional committee, committee of the United States House of Representatives. The committee's broad jurisdiction and legislative authority make it one o ...
began an investigation into the IRS. Additionally, the House Committee on Ways and Means expanded its ongoing 2011 investigation into IRS political targeting to include the BOLO keyword targeting allegations. On May 22, 2013, in an opening statement to the House committee chaired by Representative
Darrell Issa Darrell Edward Issa ( ; born November 1, 1953) is an American businessman and politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 48th congressional district. He represented the 50th congressional district from 2021 to 2023. A memb ...
, Lerner stated: "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 congressional committee." Lerner then invoked her Fifth Amendment right against compelled testimony and refused to testify. Issa later asserted that Lerner had waived her Fifth Amendment rights by giving partial testimony, and that he intended to call her back into the hearings. Congressman
Trey Gowdy Harold Watson "Trey" Gowdy III (born August 22, 1964) is an American television news presenter, former politician and former federal prosecutor who served as the U.S. representative for from 2011 to 2019. His district included much of the Upsta ...
agreed with Issa. Gowdy stated: "She ois Lernerjust waived her Fifth Amendment right. You don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross examination — that's not the way it works. She waived her right to Fifth Amendment privilege by issuing an opening statement. She ought to stand here and answer our questions." Law professor
James Joseph Duane James Joseph Duane (born July 30, 1959) is an American law professor at the Regent University School of Law, former criminal defense attorney, and Fifth Amendment expert. Duane has received considerable online attention for his lecture "Don't ...
told ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'' magazine that Gowdy's assertion was "extremely imaginative" but "mistaken", because a person who is involuntarily summoned before a grand jury or a legislative body may selectively invoke the right to silence.Expert: Lois Lerner Didn't Waive Her Right to Plead the Fifth
Dan Amira, ''
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...
'', May 22, 2013.
Law professor
Alan Dershowitz Alan Morton Dershowitz ( ; born September 1, 1938) is an American lawyer and law professor known for his work in U.S. constitutional law, U.S. constitutional and American criminal law, criminal law. From 1964 to 2013, he taught at Harvard Law Sc ...
took a different view, arguing: "You can't simply make statements about a subject and then plead the Fifth in response to questions about the very same subject", and asserting, " ce you open the door to an area of inquiry, you have waived your Fifth Amendment right." Lawmakers called for the resignation of Lois Lerner, who ran the IRS's section on tax-exempt organizations, as did
Danny Werfel Daniel I. Werfel (born 1971) is an American government official who served as Commissioner of Internal Revenue from 2023 to 2025. He was formerly a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG) from 2014 to 2023, acting Commissi ...
, after he was appointed Acting IRS Commissioner following Miller's resignation. When Lerner refused to resign, she was placed on
administrative leave Administrative leave is a temporary leave from a job assignment, with pay and benefits intact. Generally, the term is reserved for employees of non-business institutions such as schools, police, and hospitals. Definition The definition of adm ...
. Lerner retired effective September 23, 2013.


Provisions of the resolution

''This summary is based largely on the summary provided by the
Congressional Research Service The Congressional Research Service (CRS) is a public policy research institute of the United States Congress. Operating within the Library of Congress, it works primarily and directly for members of Congress and their committees and staff on a ...
, a
public domain The public domain (PD) consists of all the creative work to which no Exclusive exclusive intellectual property rights apply. Those rights may have expired, been forfeited, expressly Waiver, waived, or may be inapplicable. Because no one holds ...
source.'' The resolution resolves that Lois G. Lerner, former director, Exempt Organizations, Internal Revenue Service (IRS), be found in contempt of Congress for failure to testify before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform as required by a congressional subpoena. The resolution directs the Speaker of the House of Representatives to certify the committee's report detailing the refusal of Lerner to testify before the committee as directed by the subpoena to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia to the end that Lerner be proceeded against in the manner and form provided by law, and to otherwise take all appropriate action to enforce the subpoena.


Procedural history

H.Res. 574 was introduced into the
United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the lower house, with the U.S. Senate being the upper house. Together, the House and Senate have the authority under Artic ...
on May 7, 2014, by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA). The provision was considered on May 7, 2014, and was passed i
Roll Call Vote 203
with a vote of 231-187. All of the
Republicans Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
voted in favor of the resolution, along with six Democrats. The six Democrats who voted in favor were:
Ron Barber Ronald Sylvester Barber (born August 25, 1945) is an American politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from 2012 to 2015. Barber, a member of the Democratic Party from Arizona, served as district director for U.S ...
(AZ), John Barrow (GA),
Collin Peterson Collin Clark Peterson (born June 29, 1944) is an American accountant, politician, and lobbyist who served as the United States House of Representatives, U.S. representative for from 1991 to 2021. A member of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer– ...
(MN),
Mike McIntyre Douglas Carmichael "Mike" McIntyre II (; born August 6, 1956) is an American attorney and politician who was first elected to represent North Carolina's 7th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996. He served for 18 y ...
(NC),
Nick Rahall Nicholas Joseph Rahall II ( ; born May 20, 1949) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served in the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 2015. He is the longest-serving member ever of the United States ...
(WV), and Patrick Murphy (FL). Seven Republicans and six Democrats were not present to vote. The Justice Department later determined that Lerner had not waived her Fifth Amendment rights and declined to seek an indictment on the charge.


Debate and discussion

House Democrats argued that Lerner had properly invoked her Fifth Amendment rights, and that she therefore was not in contempt of Congress. The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform previously voted in a straight party vote with all Republicans in favor and all Democrats opposed to the conclusion that Lerner had given up her Fifth Amendment right not to testify because she had given the committee an opening statement at the hearing.


References


External links


Library of Congress - Thomas H.Res. 574beta.congress.gov H.Res. 574GovTrack.us H.Res. 574
{{DEFAULTSORT:Finding Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress (H.Res. 574 113th Congress) United States House of Representatives resolutions Proposed legislation of the 113th United States Congress Taxation in the United States