Lois Lerner Waived Her Right to 5th Amendment, Was in Contempt

An IRS official effectively waived her right not to testify about the tax agency's targeting of conservative groups, a Republican-led congressional committee concluded on Friday in a vote that cleared the way for Congress to hold her in contempt.

Lois Lerner, former head of the Internal Revenue Service's tax-exempt division, angered Republicans last month when she invoked her constitutional right not to answer their questions at a hearing.

The committee is investigating the IRS's admission that it subjected applications for tax exempt status from groups with "Tea Party" or "Patriot" in their names to special scrutiny.

By reading a statement telling lawmakers that she did "nothing wrong" before invoking her Fifth Amendment protections, some Republicans said that Lerner waived her rights.

The Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives approved on a party-line vote a Republican resolution on Friday saying that Lerner did waive her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination.

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-- Political Pistachio Conservative News and Commentary