WASHINGTON -- Lois Lerner, the former Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the furor over the agency's alleged targeting of politically active nonprofits, will not face prosecution for refusing to testify before Congress, federal prosecutors announced Wednesday.
The House of Representatives voted last year to hold Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, then chaired by Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). She had offered a short statement professing her innocence of any wrongdoing in the scandal and then twice invoked the Fifth Amendment. The contempt citation was forwarded to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia for prosecution.
But in a letter to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) dated March 31, departing U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen said that a team of veteran prosecutors had reviewed the referral and decided that while Lerner's refusal to answer questions was "willful," her short statement of innocence had not been enough to waive her right to not incriminate herself.
"The team also concluded that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment privilege by making an opening statement on May 22, 2013, because she made only general claims of innocence," wrote Machen, who resigned his post effective April 1. "Thus, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense should she be prosecuted under [Congress' contempt laws] for her refusal to testify."
"Given this assessment, we have further concluded that it is not appropriate for a United States Attorney to present a matter to the grand jury for action where, as here, the Constitution prevents the witness from being prosecuted," he wrote.
Read the letter here.
More: Lois Lerner Will Not Face Contempt Prosecution Over IRS Scandal
Congratulations, Mrs. Lerner. Enjoy your retirement.
