The IRS Scandal, Day 694

Investor's Business Daily editorial, Lois Lerner Gets Off - Hillary Clinton Breathes Easier:

The Justice Department says Lois Lerner, who used her IRS office to target the Tea Party, didn't waive her Fifth Amendment rights before Congress and won't be prosecuted for contempt over her missing emails. ...

Lois Lerner, poster child for hard-drive crashes and missing emails, won't face charges for contempt of Congress. ... After pleading her innocence at that 2013 hearing, Lerner went on to invoke her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. This raised the question of whether the Constitution let her remain silent after she was not silent and pleaded her case.

The House decided that no, it doesn't. In May of last year it voted to hold her in contempt of Congress. The Ways and Means Committee went so far as to send the Justice Department a criminal referral with potential charges that could have meant 11 years in jail.

Lerner waived her rights not only when she pleaded her innocence before Congress, but also when she shared with DOJ information she was withholding from Congress.

Hans Von Spakovsky, senior legal fellow at the Heritage Foundation, says government officials can't pick and choose when and where they invoke their Fifth Amendment rights. They can't legally give information to the DOJ that they withhold from Congress. "When Lerner gave a lengthy interview to the government, she waived the Fifth. There's no doubt about it," says Von Spakovsky. "The law is crystal clear here in the District of Columbia."

But not so clear, it seems, to the political wagon circlers at the Justice Department.

• Fox News, The IRS Scandal: No Justice From the Justice Department
• News Busters, Shocker! Obama’s DOJ Won’t Seek Contempt Charges for Lois Lerner, Networks Ignore
• News Max, US Won't Charge Ex-IRS Official Lois Lerner With Contempt

• The IRS Scandal, Day 693 (Apr. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 692 (Apr. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 691 (Mar. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 690 (Mar. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 689 (Mar. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 688 (Mar. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 687 (Mar. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 686 (Mar. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 685 (Mar. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 684 (Mar. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 683 (Mar. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 682 (Mar. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 681 (Mar. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 680 (Mar. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 679 (Mar. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 678 (Mar. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 677 (Mar. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 676 (Mar. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 675 (Mar. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 674 (Mar. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 673 (Mar. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 672 (Mar. 12. 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 671 (Mar. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 670 (Mar. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 669 (Mar. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 668 (Mar. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 667 (Mar. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 666 (Mar. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 665 (Mar. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 664 (Mar. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 663 (Mar. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 662 (Mar. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 661 (Mar. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 660 (Feb. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 659 (Feb. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 658 (Feb. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 657 (Feb. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 656 (Feb. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 655 (Feb. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 654 (Feb. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 653 (Feb. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 652 (Feb. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 651 (Feb. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 650 (Feb. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 649 (Feb. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 648 (Feb. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 647 (Feb. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 646 (Feb. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 645 (Feb. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 644 (Feb. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 643 (Feb. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 642 (Feb. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 641 (Feb. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 640 (Feb. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 639 (Feb. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 638 (Feb. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 637 (Feb. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 636 (Feb. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 635 (Feb. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 634 (Feb. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 633 (Feb. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 632 (Jan. 31, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 631 (Jan. 30, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 630 (Jan. 29, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 629 (Jan. 28, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 628 (Jan. 27, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 627 (Jan. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 626 (Jan. 25, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 625 (Jan. 24, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 624 (Jan. 23, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 623 (Jan. 22, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 622 (Jan. 21, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 621 (Jan. 20, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 620 (Jan. 19, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 619 (Jan. 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 618 (Jan. 17, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 617 (Jan. 16, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 616 (Jan. 15, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 615 (Jan. 14, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 614 (Jan. 13, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 613 (Jan. 12, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 612 (Jan. 11, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 611 (Jan. 10, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 610 (Jan. 9, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 609 (Jan. 8, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 608 (Jan. 7, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 607 (Jan. 6, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 606 (Jan. 5, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 605 (Jan. 4, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 604 (Jan. 3, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 603 (Jan. 2, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 602 (Jan. 1, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 601 (Dec. 31, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 501-600 (Sept. 22, 2014-Dec. 30, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 401-500 (June 14, 2014 - Sept. 21,2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 301-400 (Mar. 6, 2014 - June 13, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 201-300 (Nov. 26, 2013 - Mar. 5, 2014)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 101-200 (Aug. 18, 2013 - Nov. 25, 2013)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1-100 (May 10, 2013 - Aug. 17, 2013)