Republicans on Friday were outraged by the announcement that former IRS official Lois Lerner will not face any charges for her role in the scandal involving her agency’s decision to slow-walk decisions about the tax-exempt status of conservative groups.
The Justice Department announced its decision in a letter to Congress it sent out on Friday. “We found no evidence that any IRS official acted based on political, discriminatory, corrupt, or other inappropriate motives that would support a criminal prosecution,” Assistant Attorney General Peter Kadzik said in the letter.
The federal government is thus closing its nearly two-year inquiry into the matter without charging anyone. The investigation found “substantial evidence of mismanagement, poor judgment and institutional inertia leading to the belief by many tax-exempt applicants that the IRS targeted them based on their political viewpoints,” the letter said.
“But poor management is not a crime,” it said.
House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., disagreed with the department’s conclusion.
“The Department of Justice investigation did conclude that the actions of IRS personnel involved in the scandal was ‘disquieting’ and in that we all agree,” he said. “However, the American people should be concerned that this kind of politicization continues to go unchecked by this administration and a Justice Department charged with pursuing wrongdoing.”
“You can be sure this will be a major issue during the Committee’s DOJ oversight hearing with Attorney General Lynch next week,” he added.
“This announcement is a reminder that the Obama administration continues to refuse to hold anyone accountable at the IRS,” House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz, R-Utah, said in an email.
“While DOJ may have closed its investigation, as a co-equal branch of government, Congress will continue to seek accountability for the American people,” he said. “A clear message must be sent that using government agencies to stifle citizens’ freedom of speech will not be tolerated. If the administration won’t send that message, Congress will.”
Chaffetz’s predecessor as Oversight chair, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., also weighed in.
“Giving Lois Lerner a free pass only reinforces the idea that government officials are above the law and that there is no consequence for wrongdoing,” Issa said.
Lerner outraged conservatives around the country and in Congress when the scandal broke.
She headed the IRS office on tax exempt groups, and admitted that they applied extra scrutinty to conservative groups seeking tax exempt status in the runup to the 2012 election. Some Republicans say her actions may have tipped the balance in favor of Obama that year. Lerner was called up to Congress to testify on her role in the scandal, and pled the Fifth Amendment.
Read the DOJ letter here:
