House votes to hold former IRS official in contempt
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
By a vote of 231 to 187, the House of Representatives on Wednesday voted to hold former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for not cooperating with an investigation into the agency's targeting of specific organizations.
Last year, Lerner admitted during an American Bar Association conference that the IRS singled out certain groups, including those with "tea party" in their names, the Washington Post says. A Justice Department investigation was held, and Lerner was called to testify at hearings on Capitol Hill, where she invoked her Fifth Amendment right. She last appeared before the Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March, and again invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.
The contempt resolution was approved on a party-line vote in April by the Oversight panel, which then passed it on to the full House, the Post reports. The matter is being sent to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, and then given to a grand jury for review. If Lerner is convicted, she could face up to one year in jail, and a fine of $100,000. The House Ways and Means Committee, in another party-line vote, agreed to request criminal prosecution of Lerner for misleading investigators and revealing private taxpayer information. Her attorney, William Taylor, is adamant that his client has not done anything illegal.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia is night editor for TheWeek.com. Her writing and reporting has appeared in Entertainment Weekly and EW.com, The New York Times, The Book of Jezebel, and other publications. A Southern California native, Catherine is a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
Today's political cartoons - April 26, 2024
Cartoons Friday's cartoons - teleprompter troubles, presidential immunity, and more
By The Week US Published
-
Justices set to punt on Trump immunity case
Speed Read Conservative justices signaled support for Trump's protection from criminal charges
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
Do youth curfews work?
Today's big question Banning unaccompanied children from towns and cities is popular with some voters but is contentious politically
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Puffed rice and yoga: inside the collapsed tunnel where Indian workers await rescue
Speed Read Workers trapped in collapsed tunnel are suffering from dysentery and anxiety over their rescue
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
More than 2,000 dead following massive earthquake in Morocco
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Mexico's next president will almost certainly be its 1st female president
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
North Korea's Kim to visit Putin in eastern Russia to discuss arms sales for Ukraine war, U.S. says
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Gabon's military leader sworn in following coup in latest African uprising
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstances
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governor
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published