The Briefing Room
General Category => Politics/Government => Topic started by: mystery-ak on March 02, 2014, 05:01:58 pm
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/02/exclusive-lerner-will-give-hill-testimony-on-irs-scandal-after-lawyers-said-no/ (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/02/exclusive-lerner-will-give-hill-testimony-on-irs-scandal-after-lawyers-said-no/)
EXCLUSIVE: Lois Lerner does about-face, will give Hill testimony on IRS scandal
Published March 02, 2014
FoxNews.com
Former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner, a central figure in the IRS scandal, will appear before Congress Wednesday after refusing to testify last year on the matter, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Sunday.
Issa, chairman of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, told “Fox News Sunday” that Lerner’s lawyers said she will testify before his committee, after saying last week that she would not.
“It’s going to be a good, fact-finding hearing,” he said.
Issa said he didn’t know why Lerner’s lawyers changed their mind, but suggested Lerner testifying was “in her best interest,” considering the recent evidence the committee had gathered.
Issa and Lerner’s attorneys have argued about whether she is protected under the Fifth Amendment from having to testify.
In May 2013, Lerner invoked the amendment right during her first-and-only appearance before the House committee, but only after she professed her innocence during an opening statement.
Lerner resigned last year from her role as the agency’s director of tax-exempt organizations.
The House committee continues to investigate the IRS in its 2012 targeting of Tea Party groups and other politically conservative organizations trying to get tax-exempt status.
Congressional investigators are trying to determine who exactly gave the orders for IRS agents to target the groups.
Issa said Sunday that Lerner was “in a powerful position and could have been acting alone.” Congressional documents also suggest that she was under political pressure to orchestrate the targeting.
However, safeguards against such situations should have been in place and Congress should work to put in “more checks and balances,” he also said.
Last week, Lerner attorney William Taylor said his client will testify on Capitol Hill only if compelled by a federal court or if given immunity for the testimony.
Taylor stated his position in a letter to Issa. He was responding to a letter Tuesday from Issa saying, in part, that Lerner’s testimony remains “critical to the committee’s investigation.”
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She must have seen Trey Gowdy on FOX.
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"I refuse to answer on the grounds it may incriminate me ...."
Repeat.
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Issa may have her cold and has told Lerner's lawyers it would benefit her if she specifically named others who were involved, especially if the orders to target conservative groups came from those others.
How many top IRS officials--current and former--are now scrambling to line up attorneys?
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Issa may have her cold and has told Lerner's lawyers it would benefit her if she specifically named others who were involved, especially if the orders to target conservative groups came from those others.
How many top IRS officials--current and former--are now scrambling to line up attorneys?
I wonder if she got transactional immunity or just use immunity
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I wonder if she got transactional immunity or just use immunity
Good question...and I am certain her attorney(s) negotiated one or the other or even both in order for her to even appear. What she will not be able to do is go in there and plead the fifth if she is expecting to get some sort of immunity.
In any case, this one is gonna be good. I'll plan on blogging that one live here, and no doubt C-Span will be streaming it live.
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http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/02/exclusive-lerner-will-give-hill-testimony-on-irs-scandal-after-lawyers-said-no/ (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/02/exclusive-lerner-will-give-hill-testimony-on-irs-scandal-after-lawyers-said-no/)
EXCLUSIVE: Lois Lerner does about-face, will give Hill testimony on IRS scandal
Published March 02, 2014
FoxNews.com
Former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner, a central figure in the IRS scandal, will appear before Congress Wednesday after refusing to testify last year on the matter, Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said Sunday.
Lerner's attorney says she won't testify, Issa wrong
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/03/lerners-attorney-says-she-wont-testify-issa-wrong-184292.html (http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/03/lerners-attorney-says-she-wont-testify-issa-wrong-184292.html)
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Lerner's attorney says she won't testify, Issa wrong
http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/03/lerners-attorney-says-she-wont-testify-issa-wrong-184292.html (http://www.politico.com/blogs/politico-live/2014/03/lerners-attorney-says-she-wont-testify-issa-wrong-184292.html)
Breaking news only seconds ago
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/02/exclusive-lerner-will-give-hill-testimony-on-irs-scandal-after-lawyers-said-no/ (http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/03/02/exclusive-lerner-will-give-hill-testimony-on-irs-scandal-after-lawyers-said-no/)
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Later in the day, Lerner attorney William W. Taylor disputed Issa’s claim, saying his client would not testify.
“As of now, she intends to continue to assert her Fifth Amendment rights,” Taylor told Politico. “I do not know why Issa said what he said.”
Taylor’s statement was follow by a release from the oversight committee that stated Taylor had confirmed in writing that his client is willing to testify, but wants to delay the hearing by one week.
“We have informed Mr. Taylor that Ms. Lerner may make her request for a delay on Wednesday when she appears for the hearing,” said committee spokesman Frederick Hill.
Issa and Lerner’s attorneys also have argued about whether she is protected under the Fifth Amendment from having to testify.
In May 2013, Lerner invoked the amendment right during her first-and-only appearance before the House committee, but only after she professed her innocence during an opening statement.
Crazy.
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoZfSlPwaM&list=TLt5g9QlRi947eVroVQNuz36vN75jDTJxM (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdoZfSlPwaM&list=TLt5g9QlRi947eVroVQNuz36vN75jDTJxM)
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Let's say Lerner testifies and incriminates the President of the United States. If I were Lerner I would do this; to escape jail time but I would want to go into a witness protection program. This is a tainted offer with Obama and Holder in charge. AND OR If she were to incriminate Obama and or cabinet officials; is she safe from retribution simply because she is in the public eye? This woman plead the fifth for a reason.
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Let's say Lerner testifies and incriminates the President of the United States. If I were Lerner I would do this; to escape jail time but I would want to go into a witness protection program. This is a tainted offer with Obama and Holder in charge. AND OR If she were to incriminate Obama and or cabinet officials; is she safe from retribution simply because she is in the public eye? This woman plead the fifth for a reason.
She plead the fifth because she was in the chain who approved of targeting these T-Party groups. Obama and Holder would never have their fingerprints on something like this.
But they don't need to have approved it personally. All that has to be shown is that someone in the White House (White House Counsel?) approved, and everyone will make the connection.
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Let's say Lerner testifies and incriminates the President of the United States. If I were Lerner I would do this; to escape jail time but I would want to go into a witness protection program. This is a tainted offer with Obama and Holder in charge. AND OR If she were to incriminate Obama and or cabinet officials; is she safe from retribution simply because she is in the public eye? This woman plead the fifth for a reason.
I think Lerner is up a creek if she would consider a witness protection program. I wouldn't trust of the politicos to hide me. There is no hiding from the government, because there are too many backstabbers and just downright evil people. Besides, she is too public for O to take a chance on getting rid of her, unless she commits suicide with a couple bullets to the back of the head.
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She plead the fifth because she was in the chain who approved of targeting these T-Party groups. Obama and Holder would never have their fingerprints on something like this.
But they don't need to have approved it personally. All that has to be shown is that someone in the White House (White House Counsel?) approved, and everyone will make the connection.
The chief counsel’s office for the Internal Revenue Service, headed by a political appointee of President Obama, helped develop the agency’s problematic guidelines for reviewing “tea party” cases, according to a top IRS attorney.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/07/17/irs-chief-counsel-involved-in-targeting-controversy (http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/federal-eye/wp/2013/07/17/irs-chief-counsel-involved-in-targeting-controversy)
Knowing they have this. Obama denied there is even a smidgen of evidence. But he was not under oath.
This is indeed enough to tie Obama but would Lerner be safe from retribution or other wise?
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I think Lerner is up a creek if she would consider a witness protection program. I wouldn't trust of the politicos to hide me. There is no hiding from the government, because there are too many backstabbers and just downright evil people. Besides, she is too public for O to take a chance on getting rid of her, unless she commits suicide with a couple bullets to the back of the head.
AKA Fostercide.
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SNIP
Lerner’s attorney now says she doesn’t want to testify because she “fears for her life and has received numerous death threats,” according to Politico. One of these threats was reportedly “looked into” by the FBI. Who’s threatening her, and what reason is there to believe her security situation would grow more precarious if she testified before Congress?
At any rate, she might have trouble using the Fifth Amendment to escape testimony again, because there has been a long-running argument over whether her conduct at earlier hearings invalidates such claims:
Lerner’s silence, however, won’t save her from Republicans who claim she lost that right at a May 2013 hearing where she proclaimed her innocence in an opening statement — and then took the Fifth. Republicans argue that Lerner is legally obligated to answer questions on that statement and are considering a plan to force her to if she doesn’t do so willingly.
“There is talk about contempt,” Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), the head of the subcommittee with IRS jurisdiction, told POLITICO. “We’ll see — we’ve got to give her a chance to answer our questions.”
“If we have to hold her in contempt, so be it,” added Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah), a panel member. “I would vote to support that.”
Issa on Wednesday confirmed that a contempt citation is in the mix — particularly if Lerner either doesn’t show up or shows up but refuses to answer questions.
“We want her to come back and answer questions,” Issa said. “We’ll see on contempt.”
What will we see? A civil contempt charge would lead to another one of those endless court battles the media will not be interested in discussing until they involve a Republican Administration. A criminal charge would be prosecuted by the Justice Department… which just happens to be run by a fellow named Eric Holder, who has himself been held in contempt by Issa’s committee. There’s not much else they can do, because the normal machinery of government accountability has been completely short-circuited by this Administration. Nothing goes anywhere. Nobody in the press wants to shoot for Pulitzer by digging up all the hidden secrets. There is no expectation that incompetence or malfeasance will end in disciplinary action or termination.
It sounds as if some Republicans think these previously-undisclosed threats to Lerner’s safety are part of her long-running negotiation to win immunity in exchange for testimony:
Republican lawmakers on the committee, however, don’t like the idea of giving Lerner immunity
http://www.humanevents.com/2014/02/27/the-return-of-lois-lerner/ (http://www.humanevents.com/2014/02/27/the-return-of-lois-lerner/)
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It sounds as if some Republicans think these previously-undisclosed threats to Lerner’s safety are part of her long-running negotiation to win immunity in exchange for testimony:
I can believe she is getting threats. After all, she is still being paid for her 'services'. Even so, no pity here because she got herself into this mess, and is as much a criminal as the one who ordered her to do what she did.
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Lois Lerner has much more to worry about from the IRS/FCC/CIA/FBI/ATF/HLS than she does from any "right wing nutjob". How many rounds of ammo do they have now? I lost count at about 2 billion rounds, including sniper fire. (along with tanks and heavy artillery) If I was her, I would be scared out of my mind right now. "And it will be your best friend who does it."
Gee, I wonder what they are thinking? (because I'm just stupid that way.)
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She must have seen Trey Gowdy on FOX.
She's had time to get her 'story' straight.
She won't give up a thing.
What she should face is a firing squad.
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She's had time to get her 'story' straight.
She won't give up a thing.
What she should face is a firing squad.
There is no story to change when an Obama cabinet member has already been implicated in the literal development of how the tea party/conservatives was/is reviewed.
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If there is a firing squad, it will be her own people doing the shooting.
all
We are not stupid. We all know the truth.
But the truth she can never say. Because it would bring down a King.