Confirmed: Lerner participated in persecution of Tea Party groups

[Ferd Berfle]

Sieze the bitch's salary and use it to reimburse the costs of those she has
harmed.



Confirmed: Lerner participated in persecution of Tea Party groups
By: John Hayward
5/24/2013 09:26 AM

It seems like only yesterday that IRS Director of Exempt Organizations Lois
Lerner was claiming she knew nothing about the dastardly work of those
shadowy "low-level employees in the Cincinnati office" - who somehow remain
shadowy to this day, despite having been blamed for the worst abuse-of-power
scandal in living memory. The Incompetence Defense beloved of this
Administration, and so effective with a media that would never accept it
from a Republican official, was deployed with gusto. Lerner was shocked,
shocked, to discover gambling against Tea Party groups going on at Rick's
Tax Exempt Organizations Cafe American.

But now National Review has uncovered documentation proving Lerner was up to
her neck in the operation, over nine months after she claims she learned
about it:

Lerner, the director of the IRS exempt organizations office in Washington,
D.C., signed cover letters to 15 conservative organizations currently
represented by the American Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ) between in
March and April of 2012. The letters, such as this one sent to the Ohio
Liberty Council on March 16, 2012, informed the groups applying for
tax-exempt status that the IRS was "unable to make a final determination on
your exempt status without additional information," and included a list of
detailed questions of the kind that a Treasury inspector general's audit
found to be inappropriate. Some of the groups to which Lerner sent letters
are still awaiting approval.

I guess she could try the "What am I signing, Radar?" mutation of the
Incompetence Defense, and claim this stuff was shoved under her nose by more
of those rogue low-level employees, who tricked her into signing it without
reading it. I've been wondering if we might hear that one from Attorney
General Eric Holder, too.

The intimidation factor of a top-ranking IRS official's signature on these
letters is huge:

"One thing is clear: this correspondence shows [Lerner's] direct involvement
in the scheme," wrote Jay Sekulow, chief counsel for the American Center for
Law and Justice. "Further, sending a letter from the top person in the IRS
Exempt Organization division to a small Tea Party group also underscores the
intimidation used in this targeting ploy."

Sekulow's organization has received complaints from conservative
organizations who say this abusive behavior continued long after IRS
officials claim it was halted, in May 2012.

No wonder Lois Lerner took the Fifth Amendment, instead of testifying!
There's so much she desperately needs to not talk about.

There's currently a lively debate over whether Lerner waived her Fifth
Amendment privileges by dumping her little "I did nothing wrong" soliloquy
on the House Oversight Committee this week. For what it's worth, star
lawyer Alan Dershowitz thinks she blew it, and Congress can hold her in
contempt if she tries it again, when House Oversight chairman Darrell Issa
(R-CA) summons her for a return appearance:

"You can't simply make statements about a subject and then plead the Fifth
in response to questions about the very same subject," the renowned Harvard
Law professor said.

"Once you open the door to an area of inquiry, you have waived your Fifth
Amendment right . . . you've waived your self-incrimination right on that
subject matter."

He said the fact that Lerner went ahead with her proclamation of could be
considered malpractice on the part of her attorney - although it's possible
she overruled the advice she received.

"It should never have been allowed. She should have been told by her
attorney that the law is clear, that once you open up an area of inquiry for
interrogation, you have to respond," he said.

"Now she may have made a political decision that it's worth it to take the
risk . . . That's just not the way the law works. It may be the way politics
works . . . but she can't invoke the Fifth."

As Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) said in a statement, capped off with a memorable
declaration:

"Like all Americans, government officials have constitutional rights. They
also have a duty to the taxpayers to be forthcoming about misconduct in
their agencies. If government officials are not cooperating with an
investigation of admitted wrongdoing in their agency, they should be
immediately suspended from their duties until the investigation is complete.
The IRS is free to plead the Fifth. We will continue to plead the First.

Lerner was placed on "administrative leave" Thursday - i.e. time off with
full pay. According to Senator Charles Grassley (R-IA), she insisted on
holding her post, despite being asked to resign:

"My understanding is the new acting IRS commissioner asked for Ms. Lerner's
resignation, and she refused to resign. She was then put on administrative
leave instead," Grassley stated. "The IRS owes it to taxpayers to resolve
her situation quickly. The agency needs to move on to fix the conditions
that led to the targeting debacle. She shouldn't be in limbo indefinitely on
the taxpayers' dime."

She shouldn't have her job for one more hour, but at least she's being kept
away from taxpayers while she's on administrative leave. It's too bad
America doesn't have some sort of chief executive who could take charge at a
time like this, and step forward to demand Lerner's resignation more
forcefully

http://www.humanevents.com/2013/05/24/confirmed-lerner-participated-in-persecution-of-tea-party-groups/

[BurfordTJustice]

"Ferd Berfle" <fa...@farkle.com> wrote in message
news:kno2fp$hcq$1...@dont-email.me...

--
She should be prosecuted for Voter Suppression.