Obama's DOJ Plays Politics, Refusing to Prosecute IRS' Lerner for Contempt

The breaking news is that the Obama-led P5+1 and Iran have reached a preliminary-draft-level agreement to regulate Iran's nuclear prorgam in exchange for an early lifting of economic sanctions. The details are still dripping out so let's wait until we have then to discuss what has occurred. ~~~~~ Meanwhile, in another matter that has far-reaching domestic consequences in the United,States, the Obama administration has just told Congress that it won’t prosecute former IRS executive Lois G. Lerner for contempt of Congress, concluding that she did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights to avoid answering questions when she was called to testify before Congress nearly two years ago. Lerner, the figure at the center of the IRS tea party targeting and harassment scandal, still faces investigation over the discriminatory treatment of conservative groups, but the decision by US Attorney Ronald Machen does away with at least one of her legal problems. Republicans are furious with Machen's decision, issued on his final day in office before returning to the private sector. The GOP says the decision raises major questions about cobstitutional separation of powers and increases already high tensions between President Obama and the GOP-led House that voted to hold Lerner in contempt. ~~~~~ The House Oversight Committee had tried to question Lerner about the tea party targeting and harassment soon after it was revealed in May 2013. Lerner, a longtime federal bureaucrat, attended the hearing, delivered an opening statement concerning her innocence, and then refused to answer any questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self- incrimination. ~~~~~ The basic facts concerning the IRS harassment of conservative groups are not in question. The IRS engaged in illegal targeting and harassment of US citizens because of their political beliefs. IRS has admitted that it asked inappropriate questions and used improper screening with tea party and other conservative groups’ nonprofit applications beginning in 2009 or 2010 and extending at least through 2013. Some groups caught up in the targeting are still awaiting approval - with one, the Albuquerque Tea Party, has waited more than five years. The open questions are who was involved in the conspiracy to target conservative groups during a critical presidential election period, and whether the conspiracy reached the White House. ~~~~~ Republicans found Lerner in contempt because, in the view of the committee, her opening statement was a waiver of her personal constitutional right not to incriminate herself. Therefore, the committee reasoned, Lerner shouldn’t be allowed to state her position on the record and then refuse to be cross-examined by committee members. That, according to the committee, was contempt of Congress. But Machen took the position that making a general statement of innocence “did not amount to ‘testimony’ about the actual facts,” so Lerner was not in contempt of Congress. “The Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense if she were prosecuted for contempt,” Mr. Machen said in a statement. Machen also said that his decision not to prosecute was within his power because, according to his reasoning, the House has constitutional powers to call witnesses and to hold them in contempt when they violate the rules, but the executive branch has the power to decide whether to proceed with prosecution. Both are positions that may very well be tested in federal court as the IRS investigation goes forward. ~~~~~ But, Lerner, through her lawyer, William W. Taylor III, was triumphant : “We are gratified but not surprised by today’s news. Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights. It is unfortunate that the majority party in the House put politics before a citizen’s constitutional rights.” Machen's decision not to prosecure leaves Lerner's retirement pension and bonuses intact, so she has every reason to be happy. ~~~~~ There is another criminal investigation ongoing - although at a snail's pace. Attorney General Holder directed the FBI to begin a criminal investigation to see if laws were broken, and as of the middle of March that investigation was still open. Catherine Engelbrecht, president of True the Vote, one of the targeted groups, said they are still awaiting the results of that probe, but Engelbrecht said it’s stunning that Lerner is using the shield of the Constitution to avoid answering questions from Congress : “The double standard is breathtaking. Lois Lerner played the part of front-line operative in a targeting scandal that reveled in ‘putting politics before a citizen’s constitutional rights.’ Time and again, Lerner abused the power of her IRS position to shut down organizations whose views she did not share." ~~~~~ Dear readers, it took eleven months and the resignation of the lead attorney for the Department of Justice to decide not to enforce the contempt of Congress charge against Lous Lerner. Lerner did indeed offer testimony in her opening statement, as well as a declaration of innocence that Lerner repeated 17 times in her statement to the committee. In addition, Congress has a compelling interest in oversight over corruption in the executive branch, and this, afterall, is at the core of the IRS scandal. Yet, Machen told Speaker Boehber : “...we have further concluded that it is not appropriate for a United States attorney to present the matter to the grand jury for action where, as here the Constitution prevents the witness from being prosecuted for contempt.” What Machen did not say was if or when the Department of Justice plans to take action about the targeting itself and about Lerner for her role in it. The DOJ and the FBI claim to have a probe in progress, but months have gone by while the victims waited to hear from investigators. And when the DOJ did speak, it was to prevent the prosecution of Lois Lerner for contempt -- not what her victims might have expected. The conservative groups were not simply targeted because Lerner disagreed with their politics. They were targeted during the two years between the rise of the Tea Party in early 2010 and the presidential election in 2012. The targeting prevented these conservative groups from participating in the 2012 presidential election on the side of Mitt Romney and the Republican Party. The IRS at least appeared to be intent on stopping President Obama’s political opponents by keeping them from organizing effectively. This is an unprecedented, criminal abuse of power, if proven. Yet the DOJ has demonstrated very little sense of urgency in its investigation, adding substance to the GOP's fear that not only the IRS, but also the Department of Justice -- the two executive agencies that are by law required to be non-political -- are in fact two powerful arms of a renegade Obama White House riding roughshod over the rights of American citizens and ignoring the US Constitution.