Roskam Goes after Lois Lerner

A press release from Congressman Peter Roskam

Roskam, Brady Urge DOJ to Review Lois Lerner Case

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Representatives Peter J. Roskam, Chairman of the Ways & Means Tax Policy Subcommittee, and Kevin Brady, Chairman of the Ways & Means Committee, wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions today.

They called on the Department of Justice to review evidence that Lois Lerner, the former IRS Exempt Organizations Division Director, broke the law to target Americans for their political beliefs.

Chairman Roskam led the investigation into IRS targeting when he was Chairman of the Ways & Means Oversight Subcommittee during the last Congress.

Despite a three-year investigation, clear evidence of criminal misconduct, and a referral to the Department of Justice for criminal prosecution, the Obama Administration refused to consider the information and bring justice to the taxpayers harmed by Ms. Lerner’s actions.

Peter Roskam

In the letter to AG Session, Chairmen Roskam and Brady wrote:

“Taxpayers deserve to know that the DOJ’s previous evaluation was not tainted by politics … We respectfully request the Department of Justice to take a fresh look at the evidence presented in the attached referral in order to restore taxpayers’ trust in the IRS.”

Explaining the Committee’s findings and initial referral for criminal prosecution, the Chairmen added:

“The Committee found that Ms. Lerner used her position to improperly influence IRS action against conservative organizations, denying these groups due process and equal protection rights under the law.  The Committee also found she impeded official investigations by providing misleading statements in response to questions from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.  Finally, Lerner risked exposing, and may actually have disclosed, confidential taxpayer information, in apparent violation of Internal Revenue Code section 6103 by using her personal email to conduct official business.”

CLICK HERE to read the Full text of the referral to former Attorney General Eric Holder following the Committee’s three-year investigation can be read here.

CLICK HERE to read a timeline of Ms. Lerner’s misconduct at the IRS.

CLICK HERE to read the full text of the letter to Attorney General Sessions requesting the Department of Justice to review the evidence of Ms. Lerner’s misconduct.

Full Text of the Letter to AG Sessions:

The Honorable Jeff Sessions
Attorney General
U.S. Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 20530-0001

Dear Mr. Attorney General:

On April 9, 2014, the House Committee on Ways and Means voted to send a letter to the Department of Justice referring former IRS Exempt Organizations Division Director Lois G. Lerner for criminal prosecution.  As indicated in the attached letter, the Committee’s nearly three-year investigation uncovered evidence of willful misconduct on the part of Ms. Lerner.  Despite this fact, and for what many believe were purely partisan reasons, the prior Administration refused to review Ms. Lerner’s misconduct.  For the reasons described below, I respectfully request the Department of Justice to take a fresh look at the evidence presented in the attached referral in order to restore taxpayers’ trust in the IRS.

In particular, the Committee found that Ms. Lerner used her position to improperly influence IRS action against conservative organizations, denying these groups due process and equal protection rights under the law.  The Committee also found she impeded official investigations by providing misleading statements in response to questions from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.  Finally, Lerner risked exposing, and may actually have disclosed, confidential taxpayer information, in apparent violation of Internal Revenue Code section 6103 by using her personal email to conduct official business.

As you know, your predecessor brought no charges against Ms. Lerner or any other IRS employees involved in the improper targeting of organizations applying for tax-exempt status.

Disturbingly, in February 2014, while the investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) was ongoing, President Obama stated there was “not a smidgeon of corruption” at the IRS, preempting a fair investigation in which he had political equities.  It is clear that when the DOJ announced in October 2015 that it would not bring charges against Lois Lerner, the agency was following President Obama’s signal on how he wanted the investigation to be handled.

Taxpayers deserve to know that the DOJ’s previous evaluation was not tainted by politics.  Again, I respectfully request that the Department of Justice to take a fresh look at the evidence presented in the attached referral in order to assure the American people that DOJ’s prior investigation was handled fairly and to restore taxpayers’ trust in the IRS.

Sincerely,

Kevin Brady
Chairman
Committee on Ways and Means

Peter Roskam
Chairman
Subcommittee on Tax Policy


Comments

Roskam Goes after Lois Lerner — 2 Comments

  1. Dear Peter: Will you commit to support health care for all Americans (Single payer system)? 2018, are you here already?

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *