Thread: House Republicans won't rule out arresting Lois Lerner if Justice Department doesn't

House Republicans won't rule out arresting Lois Lerner if Justice Department doesn't

By Joel Gehrke | APRIL 9, 2014

Among those tools is the House's “inherent contempt” authority under the Constitution, which was initially exercised in 1795 during the First Congress and on multiple occasions thereafter. Lerner could be held until January 2015 when a new Congress is seated, which could issue another subpoena and throw her in the clink again if she still balks at testifying.

The Washington Times reports that the House Ways and Means committee voted to approve a referral to the Justice Department officially accusing Lois Lerner of breaking criminal laws.









Former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner exercises her Fifth Amendment right not to... House Ways and Means Committee Republicans aren't ruling out the use of the chamber's "inherent contempt" authority if Attorney General Eric Holder refuses to act on the panel's accusations against former IRS official Lois Lerner.

The committee voted Wednesday to seek an investigation of whether Lerner violated federal law by using her power to ensure Right-leaning groups were targeted for extra scrutiny by the agency, giving misleading information during a probe of the matter by the Treasury Department's inspector general and using her personal email to conduct official business, which could have resulted in the disclosure of confidential taxpayer information.

“The Ways and Means Committee, led by Chairman [Dave] Camp [R-Mich.], has conducted a serious and thorough investigation of the IRS, uncovering abuses and criminal acts that should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law," House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, said of the referral. "As I've said, if Lois Lerner continues to refuse to testify, then the House will hold her in contempt. And we will continue to shine the light on the administration's abusive actions and use every tool at our disposal to expose the truth and ensure the American people get the answers they deserve.”

Among those tools is the House's “inherent contempt” authority under the Constitution, which was initially exercised in 1795 during the First Congress and on multiple occasions thereafter. Lerner could be held until January 2015 when a new Congress is seated, which could issue another subpoena and throw her in the clink again if she still balks at testifying.

"I think we'll deal with that, should that occur, but I think this too is an ongoing investigation, and, frankly, for the attorney general to turn a blind eye to this evidence would discredit him greatly," Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, a Ways and Means Committee member, told the Washington Examiner when asked if the House would take that step if Holder refused to take the case.

"This is a very thorough, deliberate investigation," he said. "This congressional referral is commonplace when we find evidence of wrongdoing from the legislative branch."

Brady faulted Justice for having failed so far to pursue "wrongdoing charges" against Lerner. "The Department of Justice prematurely claimed and announced that it would not be pursuing wrongdoing charges, which tells me that they are at this point not taking the investigation seriously," he said.

But Brady, when asked to rule out the idea of the House using the "inherent contempt" doctrine against Lerner, chose not to do so.

"Let's hope the attorney general does his job," he said, after a pause.
Another panel member, Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., said it's "premature" to talk about the House arresting Lerner.

"At this point, we hope the attorney general does his job," he said.
Liberal organizations, including the New York Times, called for Congress to use that power in 2007 during the presidency of George W. Bush, when the legislature was controlled by Democrats.

"[I]nherent contempt is important," Adam Cohen wrote. "The Bush administration has been acting as if only the executive branch matters ... There is a simple way to avoid a constitutional showdown: If Congress holds witnesses in contempt, the Justice Department should enforce the subpoenas. "

http://washingtonexaminer.com/house-...rticle/2547015

Examiner Editorial: Lois Lerner could go to jail in contempt clash

By Washington Examiner | MARCH 27, 2014 AT 11:51 AM

Topics: Editorial IRS Darrell Issa Jim Jordan Magazine Lois Lerner House Oversight
Former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner, accompanied by her attorney is seen on... This may come as a shock to Lois Lerner, but the House of Representatives has the authority to jail her unless she changes her mind about refusing to answer questions about her role in the IRS scandal. Essentially, what is required for that to happen is for a House majority to vote for a motion holding her in contempt and House Speaker John Boehner to then direct the House sergeant at arms to arrest and confine her. Under the Constitution, the House can do that under its “inherent contempt” authority, which was initially exercised in 1795 during the First Congress and on multiple occasions thereafter. Lerner could be held until January 2015 when a new Congress is seated, which could issue another subpoena and throw her in the clink again if she still balks at testifying.

According to a 2012 Congressional Research Service report, inherent contempt has the unique advantage that it doesn’t require “the cooperation or assistance of either the executive or judicial branches. The House or Senate can, on its own, conduct summary proceedings and cite the offender for contempt.” The prospect of an eight or nine month stretch in the congressional slammer might have a sobering effect on Lerner. On the other hand, neither the House nor the Senate has used this authority since 1935, according to the CRS report, because the process can be “unseemly” and time-consuming.
Plus, Lerner may be on solid ground in thinking Boehner and other House Republicans don't have the political spine to jail her. But just as the South's “massive resistance” in the 1950s to racial integration was doomed to fail because it could not be sustained over time, the Obama administration's comprehensive refusal since November 2010 to cooperate with legitimate congressional oversight by House committees may be sowing seeds of frustration that eventually undercut Lerner's calculation of how long she can keep silent. Chairman Darrell Issa of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, and Rep. Jim Jordan, who heads that panel's oversight subcommittee, are patient individuals but perhaps not that patient.
Something else is also clear: House leaders have effectively laid the legal predicate for a contempt vote. Earlier this week, the Office of General Counsel for the House delivered its opinion that Issa's committee has satisfied all legal requirements in its dealings with Lerner and her Fifth Amendment claim, so “there is no constitutional impediment to … the committee approving a resolution recommending that the full House hold Ms. Lerner in contempt of Congress …”
Contempt citations aren't common but neither are they a thing of the past. Among those cited for contempt just since 1980 are such notables as Attorney General Eric Holder, then-White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten and then-White House General Counsel Harriet Miers, then-Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Anne Gorsuch Burford and then-EPA Assistant Administrator Rita Lavelle.
None of those worthies ended up behind congressional bars, but then none of them was accused of being at the heart of an illegal effort to hijack the oppressive power of the federal tax agency to deprive thousands of Americans of their most sacred rights under the First Amendment

http://washingtonexaminer.com/article/2546356

The Republican Party isn't going to do shit against anything associated with Obama or his Marxist junta. How long have they been "investigating" the IRS scandal, Operation Fast and Furious, the deaths in Benghazi? I think the whole "Congressional hearings" stuff is a sham to placate public anger by pretending to be working to fix things. They have no intention of doing anything; they only want people to think action is being taken.

Go to Washington DC on 16 May 2014 and protest for Obama to resign, leave town and never come back. Google or Bing "Operation American Spring."

Originally Posted by csarbww

The Republican Party isn't going to do shit against anything associated with Obama or his Marxist junta. How long have they been "investigating" the IRS scandal, Operation Fast and Furious, the deaths in Benghazi? I think the whole "Congressional hearings" stuff is a sham to placate public anger by pretending to be working to fix things. They have no intention of doing anything; they only want people to think action is being taken.

Go to Washington DC on 16 May 2014 and protest for Obama to resign, leave town and never come back. Google or Bing "Operation American Spring."

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Oversight committee votes to hold Lerner in contempt


Posted on Apr 10, 2014
By The Right Scoop

Next, it will head to the floor of the House:

FOX NEWS – A House committee voted Thursday to hold Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress, as Republicans escalated their bid to “get to the bottom” of the former IRS official’s role in the political targeting scandal.
The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 21-12 to hold Lerner in contempt. The vote followed hours of heated debate on the committee.

The contempt measure would next head to the House floor. House Speaker John Boehner predicted earlier this week that unless Lerner agrees to cooperate, the full House will support contempt — from there, the case would likely head to the courts.

“This is not an action I take lightly,” House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said before the vote. But he said lawmakers “need Ms. Lerner’s testimony to complete our oversight work and bring truth to the American people.”

The vote comes a day after the House Ways and Means Committee voted to refer Lerner’s case to the Justice Department for possible criminal prosecution. In a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder, the committee claimed Lerner may have violated “one or more criminal statutes.” The Department of Justice is not obligated to take up the committee’s request.

http://therightscoop.com/oversight-c...r-in-contempt/

Trey Gowdy to Eric Holder: Prosecute Lerner, Prove You're a Real AG

Wednesday, 09 Apr 2014 07:19 PM

Attorney General Eric Holder must take seriously congressional allegations against former IRS official Lois Lerner if he is to be trusted as the nation's top law enforcement official, Rep. Trey Gowdy says.

"What happened today was really big . . . You remember when the president said there's not a smidgen of criminality?" Gowdy, a South Carolina Republican, told "The Steve Malzberg Show" on Newsmax TV.

"So, now you have the Ways and Means, which is one of the more widely respected committees in Congress, sending three separate, potential criminal acts to the Department of Justice and a referral.

"This is a perfect opportunity for [Holder] to prove his law enforcement credentials and not his political credentials . . . If you want to be taken seriously as a top law enforcement official in the country, you better handle this investigation in a way that generates public confidence," Gowdy said Wednesday.

A House committee voted Wednesday to formally ask the Justice Department to consider criminal prosecution against Lerner, who was allegedly part of the targeting of conservative groups by the agency. Lerner has denied any wrongdoing.

Gowdy, a member of the House Oversight Committee, said that with the IRS and other scandals looming, he expects Americans to make changes in leadership at the polls this year.

"November is the ultimate chance for our fellow citizens to say, 'You know what? We're not headed in the right direction, and you can pick your reason why. Our feckless foreign policy, healthcare, or maybe, just maybe, since we're a nation of laws, it'd be nice to have a chief executive and an AG that took that responsibility seriously," Gowdy said.

"Now, you can't get rid of the chief executive this November, but you can certainly send a message that we're not happy with the way things are going."


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Ford O'Connell: Don't Prosecute Lois Lerner, Grant Her Immunity

Wednesday, 09 Apr 2014 03:39 PM
By Aaron Stern

The Republican-led House Ways and Means Committee's decision to ask Attorney General Eric Holder to consider criminal prosecution of former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner was a mistake, says Republican strategist Ford O'Connell.

As the midterms near and attention starts to shift to the 2016 presidential elections, O'Connell said former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush made a tactical mistake by saying in an interview last weekend that illegal immigration was "an act of love."

That may have played well with liberal and centrist voters, but it disappointed the people Bush must first win over if he hopes to win the Republican nomination, O'Connell said.

"I think Jeb Bush led with his chin and this is going to come back and really haunt him, should he run, and right now I think he's going to run," O'Connell said.

"I get what he was trying to do, he was trying to have a discussion on immigration, and unfortunately he has to understand that there are two sides of this issue, and that is rule of law and sovereignty and the fact we're dealing with people. If you want to be president of the United States, you do have to win Republican primary."

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"I want to know what you're going to get out of this, you're going to get nothing," O'Connell told "America's Forum" on Newsmax TV.

"You're talking about asking the attorney general you've held in contempt to throw you a bone and refer criminal charges against Lois Lerner, this is a mistake," he said Wednesday.

The committee's vote to pursue charges against Lerner for her involvement in alleged targeted IRS inquiries against nonprofit groups affiliated with the tea party was made along party lines, and one Democrat dismissed it as "political theater."

O'Connell said that while the Republican base cares deeply about this issue, the general public doesn't. If Republicans want to change that, they should grant Lerner immunity and have her testify to produce smoking-gun evidence that could be framed not as a partisan issue but as one of unaccountability.

"The problem here is that this is a GOP base issue, and what the Republican Party needs to do is move it to a transparency and how government institutions are used to punish public adversaries. Make this about the government," O'Connell said.

Without Republicans' doing that, O'Connell said, Democrats will be able to frame this issue as a partisan witch hunt led by Republicans during midterm campaigns.


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BREAKING: Oversight Committee Votes to Hold Lois Lerner in Contempt of Congress

Katie Pavlich | Apr 10, 2014





After five hours of debate, the House Oversight Committee has voted along party lines 21-12 to hold former IRS Director of Tax Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress.The charges come after Lerner failed to answer questions about the IRS targeting of conservative groups and after failure to cooperate with the Committee investigation into the targeting.

Before the vote, Democrats repeatedly defended the rights of Lois Lerner, arguing she did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights even though she made a statement before declaring she would not answer questions last year and again in early 2014. Republicans argued Lerner did in fact waive her Fifth Amendment rights due to making a statement and defended the rights of taxpayers who were targeted by her organization.

The contempt charge will now go to the full House for a vote. A date for when that vote will happen has not been set. If the House votes to hold her in contempt, the charge will then go to the court system. Yesterday the House Ways and Means Committee referred Lerner to the Department of Justice for criminal charges.

“Today, the Oversight Committee upheld its obligation to pursue the truth about the IRS targeting of Americans because of their political beliefs,” Chairman Darrell Issa said. “Our investigation has found that former IRS Exempt Organizations division Director Lois Lerner played a central role in the targeting scandal and then failed to meet her legal obligations to answer questions after she waived her right not to testify. In demanding answers and holding a powerful government official accountable for her failure to meet her legal obligations, this Committee did its job. If the House takes up and passes the resolution, the matter will be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, which statute requires he take to a grand jury.”

The American Center For Law and Justice, representing 41 tea party and conservative groups that were targeted by the IRS under Lerner's watch, is calling the contempt vote "justified."

“The decision to hold Lois Lerner in contempt comes 11 months to the day since she revealed this unlawful scheme with a question she planted at an ABA meeting,” ACLJ Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow said in a statement. “From the very beginning, she has ignored a Congressional subpoena – refused to answer questions on two occasions by pleading the Fifth Amendment.

We believe – as many others do – that she waived her constitutional right to remain silent because she invoked it after she publicly proclaimed her innocence. Lerner has misled the American people and Congress from the very start. Contempt is justified and the appropriate sanction in this case.”

Lerner now joins Attorney General Eric Holder, who was held in contempt of Congress in June 2012.

http://townhall.com/tipsheet/katiepa...campaign=nl_pm

Conservative Daily

Trey Gowdy for the win!



Watch Trey Gowdy Absolutely Obliterate Lois Lerner In IRS Targeting Scandal Hearing

Trey Gowdy gives a searing condemnation of Lois Lerner's obstruction.

WWW.IJREVIEW.COM

Rep. Gowdy Questions IRS Commissioner John Koskinen about IRS Targeting Scandal

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