Saturday, April 15, 2017
The IRS Scandal, Day 1437: Lois Lerner Fears For Her Life, Asks Federal Court To Seal Her Upcoming Deposition Testimony
Washington Times, Lois Lerner Demands Secrecy, Blames Death Threats Over IRS Tea Party Targeting:
Former IRS senior executive Lois G. Lerner told a federal court this week that she faces the possibility of death threats if her role in the tax agency’s tea party-targeting becomes public, and asked a judge to forever seal her upcoming deposition in a class-action lawsuit brought by hundreds of groups that were targeted.
Mr. Lerner and Holly Paz, another figure from the IRS tea party targeting, told the judge they’ve already faced “harassment and death threats” before, and said they fear another media firestorm if their version of events from the tea party targeting were to become public.
The two women said they are willing to testify, but said they could be putting “their lives in serious jeopardy.”
“Mss. Lerner and Paz have demonstrated that the public dissemination of their deposition testimony would expose them and their families to harassment and a credible risk of violence and physical harm,” they said in documents submitted by their lawyer to Judge Michael R. Barrett. ...
The class action lawsuit involves 428 groups who were snared by the IRS targeting procedures. That case, which is being heard in a federal court in Ohio, is in the discovery phase, and Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz are supposed to give testimony. ...
Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., two cases brought by tea party groups are proceeding. A judge on Wednesday granted limited discovery in those cases, ordering the IRS to detail its past and current approval processes for tax-exempt organizations. Judge Reggie B. Walton also said the groups could depose Tamera L. Ripperda, a former IRS employee who ran the Cincinnati office that processed the applications. The groups also can depose the unnamed IRS employee who currently holds that same post.
- American Thinker, Lois Lerner Demands Secrecy in Tea Party Targeting Lawsuit Testimony
- Fox News, Lois Lerner Demands Secrecy, Blames Death Threats Over IRS Tea Party Targeting
- PJ Media, Lois Lerner Demands Secrecy for IRS Targeting Lawsuit Deposition
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1434: How To Prevent The Next IRS Targeting Scandal (Apr. 12, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1433: House Oversight Committee Republicans Call On President Trump To Fire Commissioner Koskinen (Apr. 11, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1430: At Least 1 Top Republican in Congress Really Likes Commissioner Koskinen (Apr. 8, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1429: Commissioner Koskinen Says He Will Finish Term Despite GOP Calls To Step Down Immediately (Apr. 7, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1428: Fifteen Ways & Means Committee Republicans Urge Trump To Fire Commissioner Koskinen (Apr. 6, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1427: 54 Applications For Tax-Exempt Status Were Rejected In 2016; One Conservative Group Has Been Waiting For An Answer Since 2009 (Apr. 5, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1426: Obama’s IRS Chief Who Dodged Impeachment Continues Under Trump (Apr. 4, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1424: Conservatives Demand IRS Commissioner’s Head In White House Meeting (Apr. 2, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1421: More On A Hidden Cause Of The IRS Scandal (Mar. 30, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1420: A Hidden Cause (Mar. 29, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1417: Satan, Tea Parties, and the IRS (Mar. 26, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1416: The Root Problem Is The Law, Not The IRS (Mar. 25, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1415: ‘Media Attention’ And IRS Abuse (Mar. 24, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1411: Why Did Donald Trump Fire Sally Yates And Preet Bharara, But Not John Koskinen? (Mar. 20, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1410: Judicial Watch Forces Disclosure Of New Documents (Mar. 19, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1409: 'After School Satan Club' Granted Tax-Exempt Status In 10 Days While Conservative Groups Waited Years (Mar. 18, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1408: Why Won't The Media Cover It? (Mar. 17, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1407: NY Post Editorial, Fire The IRS Chief Already, Mr. President (Mar. 16, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1404: Attorney General Sessions Weighs Appointing Special Counsel To Investigate Obama's Justice Department Scandals (Mar. 13, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1403: Should Koskinen Remain, Resign, Or Be Fired? (Mar. 12, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1402: IRS Locates 7,000 Documents Related To Tea Party Targeting (Mar. 11, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1377: Republicans Still Want IRS Chief's Head (Feb. 14, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1367: White House Mum On Fate Of IRS Boss Koskinen (Feb. 4, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1365: 55 GOP Members Of Congress Ask Trump To Fire Koskinen (Feb. 2, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1363: The Final Chapter On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 31, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1360: VP Pence, GOP House And Senate Push Trump To Fire Koskinen (Jan. 28, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1358: More Reflections On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 26, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1356: Reflections On The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 24, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1353: Will The Trump IRS End, Or Embrace, Targeting Of Disfavored Groups? (Jan. 21, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1352: The End Of My Daily Coverage (Jan. 20, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1351: Two Federal Judges Order Five Officials To Preserve Emails Sought In FOIA Lawsuits; Judicial Watch Fears Another Lois Lerner Situation As Obama Administration Leaves Power (Jan. 19, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1350: Even Trump Adviser Buys Myth Of 'Scandal-Free Administration,' Despite IRS, Five Other Scandals (Jan. 18, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1349: Peggy Noonan On The Obama Presidency And The IRS Scandal (Jan. 17, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1348: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse Of Political Groups (Jan. 16, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1347: IRS Chief Counsel William Wilkins Resigns, Effective Jan. 20; GOP Questioned His Role In Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 15, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1346: The Trump Dossier, The Left, And Tea Party Targeting (Jan. 14, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1345: Donald Trump, The Intelligence Community, And Lois Lerner (Jan. 13, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1344: Democrats Remind Jeff Sessions AG Enforces 'Every Law,' Yet Were Silent When DOJ Declined To Prosecute Lois Lerner (Jan. 12, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1343: IRS Let Lois Lerner Off The Hook By Paying $12 Million For Email Backup System It Did Not Use (Jan. 11, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1342: New Chair of House Oversight Committee Pledges To Increase IRS Accountability (Jan. 10, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1341: Another View Of The Republicans' Reactivation Of The Holman Rule And Lois Lerner (Jan. 9, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1340: Tax Professors Discuss The Future Of Tax Administration And Enforcement After 'What The Media Often Refer To As The 'IRS Targeting Scandal'' (Jan. 8, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1339: House GOP Reactivates 'Holman Rule,' Would Have Permitted Reducing Lois Lerner's Pay To $1 (Jan. 7, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1338: Commissioner Koskinen Says Trump Transition Team Has No 'Axes To Grind' Against IRS (Jan. 6, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1337: The IRS Is The Third Biggest 'Tax Offender Of 2016' (Jan. 5, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1336: Fragmented Oversight Of Nonprofits In The United States (Jan. 4, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1335: Politics, Disclosure, And State Law Solutions For 501(c)(4) Organizations (Jan. 3, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1334: The IRS’s Diminished Role In Overseeing Tax-Exempt Organizations (Jan. 2, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1333: Republicans Weasel Out Of Impeaching IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Jan. 1, 2017)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1332: The House GOP's Ridiculous Impeachment Crusade (Dec. 31, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1331: Rep. Jim Jordan Offers Resolution To Impeach IRS Commissioner John Koskinen (Dec. 30, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1330: House Republicans And Democrats Forge Rare Bipartisan Agreement To Block Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 29, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1329: Did The IRS's Targeting Of Conservative Groups Lead It To Grant Tax-Exempt Status To 'Hate Groups'? (Dec. 28, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1328: House's Referral Back To Judiciary Committee Is Likely To Kill Koskinen Impeachment (Dec. 27, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1327: Delay In Koskinen Impeachment Is Discordant Note In Kumbaya Between Trump And GOP Congress (Dec. 26, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1326: Only 72 House Republicans Voted Against Delay In Impeachment Of IRS Commissioner (Dec. 25, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1325: House Impeachment Leader Grills Witness Over Giving Koskinen 'Excellence In Public Service' Award (Dec. 24, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1324: Ways & Means Committee Seeks Information From IRS About Continued Targeting Of Organizations Based On Political Beliefs — This Time, Pro-Israel Groups (Dec. 23, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1323: Tea Party Group Decries IRS's 'Latest Bob And Weave To Avoid Accountability' (Dec. 22, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1322: Government Denies That It Continues To Harass Tea Party Group (Dec. 21, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1321: Maureen Dowd, Donald Trump, And The IRS Scandal (Dec. 20, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1320: How The GOP Establishment Teamed With Nancy Pelosi To Table Impeachment Vote On IRS Commissioner (Dec. 19, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1319: How Will The Koskinen Saga End? (Dec. 18, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1318: More On Koskinen And Trump (Dec. 17, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1317: Koskinen Says He Is Willing To Serve Another Term As IRS Commissioner If Trump Wants To Reappoint Him (Dec. 16, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1316: IRS Commissioner Koskinen Says Resignation Did Not Come Up In Meeting With Trump Transition Team (Dec. 15, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1315: Bureaucratic Bumbling Or Targeting Of Conservatives? (Dec. 14, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1314: How The Trump Administration Can Stop IRS Abuse of Political Groups (Dec. 13, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1313: The Koskinen-Trump Connection (Dec. 12, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1312: Impeachment Averted, But Will Koskinen Resign Or Be Fired By President Trump? (Dec. 11, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1311: The IRS 'Scandal' Was Part Of GOP's Strategy To Bog Down Obama Administration (Dec. 10, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1310: Rep. Jim Jordan Is 'Frustrated' By House Passing On IRS Chief Koskinen's Impeachment (Dec. 9, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1309: How Trump Got Yanked Into GOP's IRS Impeachment Fight (Dec. 8, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1308: House Votes To Send Koskinen Impeachment Back To Judiciary Committee (Dec. 7, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1307: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 6, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1306: Government Rejects Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 5, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1305: Group Seeks Summary Judgment On Claim That Rev. Rul. 2004-6 Is So Vague That It Allows The IRS To Target Conservative Groups (Dec. 4, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1304: 'The IRS Has Never Stopped Targeting Conservatives' (Dec. 3, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1303: Group Sues IRS For Failure To Produce Communications With Joint Committee on Taxation (Dec. 2, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1302: The 'Corrupt' IRS Is Still Persecuting The Tea Party (Dec. 1, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Day 1301: If Koskinen Is Impeached Or Fired, Trump Could Appoint New IRS Commissioner To Go Easy On His Taxes (Nov. 30, 2016)
- The IRS Scandal, Days 1201-1300 (Aug. 22, 2016 - Nov. 29, 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, 2013)
https://taxprof.typepad.com/taxprof_blog/2017/04/the-irs-scandal-day-1437-lois-lerner-fears-for-her-life-asks-federal-court-to-seal-her-upcoming-depo.html
Comments
Lerner either should be prosecuted or immunized. But neither will happen, because she is far more valuable as an "issue."
Posted by: Old Hand | Apr 16, 2017 6:59:40 AM
Jeez, I thought women were supposed to clean up politics because they go there to "make a difference."
Posted by: Dave Mc | Apr 15, 2017 4:31:30 PM
She should be afraid. If one-quarter of what she has been accused of is true, she should expect to remain behind bars for the remainder of her natural life, along with a considerable number of her former IRS colleagues and most of the Obama Administration. Using the IRS against political enemies was a terrible blow to freedom in this country and we will be a long time in recovering from it.
Posted by: mac | Apr 15, 2017 2:14:58 PM
This is easy. If Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz are in fear we should absolutely protect them from being targeted. I'm thinking we should protect them from any harm in someplace like the Supermax facility in Colorado. This would seem to be a place where those nasty people who were targets of Ms. Lerner and Ms. Pas could be kept at bay.
Posted by: Cara Bu | Apr 15, 2017 12:01:58 PM
Paul, Thank you for your amazing and tenacious devotion to this ongoing issue. When future histories are written about the politicization and weaponizing of the IRS, your role as archivist is going to play a major role in providing source material for those histories. Bravo, sir!
Posted by: Joe F. | Apr 15, 2017 11:20:19 AM
Leaving aside the fact that there have been no reports of actual violence committed against either of these former officials or their families, which I'll interpret as more dishonesty by these career lawyers, this is just another attempt to obfuscate the facts and prevent the public from learning the whole story. I'm all broken up about these folks, given their excuses, pleading the 5th, or refusing the cooperate with a Congressional investigation. Absolutely gorgeous...
It's ironic considering that actual violence has been perpetrated against real and perceived Trump supporters on certain college campuses, who've been sent to the hospital. And the parties responsible, I'm still waiting to see any kind of prosecutorial justice...
Posted by: MM | Apr 15, 2017 10:38:57 AM
With the assumption of innocence that all are granted, we must assume that nothing Mrs. Lerner will say can, or will, be detrimental to her. The Truth will set you Free, Mrs. Lerner!
Posted by: Thomas Hazlewood | Apr 15, 2017 10:26:19 AM
These political bureaucrats should be facing long, long jail sentences. C'mon Sessions, where's the special prosecutor?
Posted by: VoteOutIncumbents | Apr 15, 2017 9:54:48 AM
Good point, Joe F.
Posted by: Anon | Apr 17, 2017 7:32:51 PM