The IRS Scandal, Day 1280: WSJ—Lois Lerner As Precursor To James Comey

Wall Street Journal:  The Antonin Scalia Election, by William McGurn:

When Americans find themselves inside the voting booth on Tuesday, for many the decisive factor will be which candidate—Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton—should fill Antonin Scalia’s empty seat on the Supreme Court.

This is no small thing. Still, whose vote will replace Scalia’s on the high court is only half the Scalia story, and perhaps not the important half. Beyond even his jurisprudence, this was a man whose wisdom was to appreciate that American liberty is rooted in the separation of powers—and that the chief means of accountability is the ballot box and not the criminal courts.

The left abandoned this principle long ago. ... Mr. Comey’s real outrage was his acquiescence to the handcuffs the Justice Department put on FBI investigators throughout the Clinton email investigation—especially Justice’s refusal to go to a grand jury, without which investigators have no good way to compel evidence and testimony. The principled stand for an FBI director would have been to inform the attorney general,Loretta Lynch, that unless she gave his agents the standard tools of an FBI investigation, he would resign and tell the American people why.

Instead, Mr. Comey proceeded with the constraints and then showboated with a July press conference absolving Mrs. Clinton of any prosecutable wrongdoing. Never mind that an indictment was not his decision to make.

No doubt Ms. Lynch would not have indicted Mrs. Clinton. But had Mr. Comey kept his mouth shut, she, President Obama and Mrs. Clinton would be answering for the decision—not to mention for the highly unethical meeting between the attorney general and Mrs. Clinton’s husband that would have remained secret but for an intrepid reporter. Now all Mr. Comey has to show for his concern for his personal reputation is to have added the FBI to the list of government institutions the public no longer trusts.

And let’s remember how Republicans blinked on Lois Lerner. When Congress held her in contempt for refusing to testify about IRS targeting of conservative groups, the House had three choices: pursue her civilly (which would take years), jail her until she testified, or refer the matter to the local U.S. attorney. Then-Speaker John Boehner opted for the last, probably realizing the Obama Justice Department would never prosecute.

Throughout it all, Congress was lectured about not doing anything to jeopardize a criminal investigation. But in the American understanding, government is accountable first and foremost to We the People operating through our elected representatives. As a co-equal branch of government, Congress is free to use its own powers regardless of what some executive agency might be doing.

Certainly jailing Ms. Lerner would not have been without its political risks. Then again, the Founders meant for such decisions to require hard political calculations.

And the results of opting for an indictment House Republicans knew would not come? Ms. Lerner has mostly gotten off scot-free. The American people still do not know the whole story. And on Friday, a ruling from a federal judge in Ohio reminded us the IRS is still targeting conservative organizations for illegal scrutiny.

• The IRS Scandal, Day 1279: WSJ — Another Federal Court Says The IRS Continues To Harass Conservative Groups (Nov. 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1278: Trump's Refusal To Release His Tax Returns And The IRS Scandal (Nov. 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1277: Second Federal Court Rules IRS Targeted Conservative Groups, Orders IRS To Act On Tea Party Group's Tax-Exempt Application Pending Since 2012 (Nov. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1276: George Will On The 2016 Presidential Election And The IRS Scandal (Nov. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1275: The Impact Of The IRS Scandal On The Investigation Of The Clinton Foundation (Nov. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1274: Koskinen Says It Is Time To 'Move Beyond' The Scandal And Restore The IRS's Budget (Nov. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1273: Harry Reid And James Comey (Nov. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1272: Why The IRS Scandal Still Matters To Republicans And Democrats (Nov. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1271: President Obama Lied About The IRS’s Targeting Of Conservatives (Oct. 31, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1270: Why The IRS Matters This Election (Oct. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1269: The Dark Art Of Political Intimidation (Oct. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1268: Sen. Whitehouse — Republicans Are Using Koskinen Impeachment To Bring IRS To Heel On Dark Money Campaign Financing (Oct. 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1267: Court Orders IRS to Give Account For Targeting Conservatives (Oct. 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1266: Obama Denies Any ‘Major Scandals’ In His Administration — What About The IRS Scandal? (Oct. 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1265: Treasury & IRS CIOs Receive IT Leadership Awards (Oct. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1264: Light Meet Tunnel (Oct. 24, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1263: The Denial Of Probe Into IRS Disclosure Of Taxpayer Information Is ‘Alarming’ (Oct. 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1262: Z Street Receives 501(c)(3) Tax-Exempt Status, Seven Years After Filing Application (Oct. 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1261: George Will And Donald Trump Are Wrong — Elections Are Not Rigged, And The IRS Is Not Rigging Them (Oct. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1260: Cleta Mitchell — Use Of The IRS Against Republican Critics Likely Will Persist In A Clinton Administration (Oct. 20, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1259: George Will — Trump Is Right That Elections Are Rigged, And The IRS Is Exhibit A (Oct. 19, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1258: Judge Orders IRS to Clear Tea Party Application Backlog Within Month (Oct. 18, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1257 (Oct. 17, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1256: The IRS Spent $12 Million For Microsoft Cloud-Based Email Archive That Was Incompatible With Its On-Premises Email System And Never Used (Oct. 16, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1255 (Oct. 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1254 (Oct. 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1253 (Oct. 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1252 (Oct. 12, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1251: Bill O'Reilly Calls For A Special Prosecutor (Oct. 11, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1250 (Oct. 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1249 (Oct. 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1248 (Oct. 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1247 (Oct. 7, 2017)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1246 (Oct. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1245 (Oct. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1244 (Oct. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1243 (Oct. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1242 (Oct. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1241 (Oct. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1240 (Sept. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1239 (Sept. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1238 (Sept. 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1237 (Sept. 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1236 (Sept. 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1235 (Sept. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1234 (Sept. 24, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1233 (Sept. 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1232 (Sept. 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1231 (Sept. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1230 (Sept. 20, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1229 (Sept. 19, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1228 (Sept. 18, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1227 (Sept. 17, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1226 (Sept. 16, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1225 (Sept. 15, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1224 (Sept. 14, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1223 (Sept. 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1222 (Sept. 12, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1221 (Sept. 11, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1220 (Sept. 10, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1219 (Sept. 9, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1218 (Sept. 8, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1217 (Sept. 7, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1216 (Sept. 6, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1215 (Sept. 5, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1214 (Sept. 4, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1213 (Sept. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1212 (Sept. 2, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1211 (Sept. 1, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1210 (Aug. 31, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1209 (Aug. 30, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1208 (Aug. 29, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1207 (Aug. 28, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1206 (Aug. 27, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1205 (Aug. 26, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1204 (Aug. 25, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1203 (Aug. 24, 2016) 
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1202 (Aug. 23, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Day 1201 (Aug. 22, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1101-1200 (May 14, 2016 - Aug. 21, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 1001-1100 (Feb. 4, 2016 - May 13, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 901-1000 (Oct. 27, 2015 - Feb. 3, 2016)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 801-900 (July 19, 2015 - Oct. 26, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 701-800 (April 10, 2015 - July 18, 2015)
• The IRS Scandal, Days 601-700 (Dec. 31, 2014 - April 9, 2015)
• 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, 201