More on the IRS persecution of conservatives
Mar 7, 2014 16:01:28 #
Los-Angeles-Shooter
Loc: Los Angeles
Lois Lerner's IRS 'Immunity Deal'
BY JAMES FREEMAN
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of a House Oversight subcommittee that has been investigating the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, says that "we need a special prosecutor." And he has a candidate in mind.
Yesterday the Journal reported that former IRS official Lois Lerner has been interviewed about the targeting by the Justice Department even as she continues to cite her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to testify before Congress.
"There must be something there," says Mr. Jordan, who argues that in practical terms Ms. Lerner already has "the best immunity deal." Mr. Jordan says that Ms. Lerner should tell the American people what she knows about IRS harassment of the President's philosophical opponents because, thanks to explicit signals from the administration, she must already know she is "not going to jail."
He cites a January 13 Journal report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has no plans to file criminal charges against anyone in the scandal. The Journal cited law-enforcement officials who "said investigators didn't find the kind of political bias or 'enemy hunting' that would amount to a violation of criminal law." This report was followed by President Obama's Super Bowl Sunday declaration on Fox News that there was "not even a smidgen of corruption" in the case. Mr. Jordan notes that both statements were made before prosecutors had even spoken to most victims of IRS harassment, and that remains true to this day.
The Ohio Republican adds that Ms. Lerner can take further comfort from the fact that Justice assigned the case to government attorney Barbara Bosserman, who has donated more than $5,000 to Barack Obama's campaigns.
Justice says that it does not take into account political views of employees when assigning tasks and that in fact it would be illegal to do so. But Mr. Jordan has asked Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz to determine how this case landed with Ms. Bosserman, a civil-rights attorney, instead of a prosecutor in the department's public integrity section.
Mr. Jordan says he'd like to get a transcript of Justice's Lerner interview but doubts the department will turn it over since the executive branch still hasn't complied with a Congressional subpoena to turn over all of Ms. Lerner's emails.
While Mr. Jordan is not endorsing a revival of the flawed and expired independent counsel statute, he says "we need a special prosecutor." And he believes that Mr. Horowitz, an Obama appointee, could conduct a serious inquiry. "I would trust Horowitz," he adds.
BY JAMES FREEMAN
Rep. Jim Jordan, chairman of a House Oversight subcommittee that has been investigating the Internal Revenue Service's targeting of conservative groups, says that "we need a special prosecutor." And he has a candidate in mind.
Yesterday the Journal reported that former IRS official Lois Lerner has been interviewed about the targeting by the Justice Department even as she continues to cite her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination in refusing to testify before Congress.
"There must be something there," says Mr. Jordan, who argues that in practical terms Ms. Lerner already has "the best immunity deal." Mr. Jordan says that Ms. Lerner should tell the American people what she knows about IRS harassment of the President's philosophical opponents because, thanks to explicit signals from the administration, she must already know she is "not going to jail."
He cites a January 13 Journal report that the Federal Bureau of Investigation has no plans to file criminal charges against anyone in the scandal. The Journal cited law-enforcement officials who "said investigators didn't find the kind of political bias or 'enemy hunting' that would amount to a violation of criminal law." This report was followed by President Obama's Super Bowl Sunday declaration on Fox News that there was "not even a smidgen of corruption" in the case. Mr. Jordan notes that both statements were made before prosecutors had even spoken to most victims of IRS harassment, and that remains true to this day.
The Ohio Republican adds that Ms. Lerner can take further comfort from the fact that Justice assigned the case to government attorney Barbara Bosserman, who has donated more than $5,000 to Barack Obama's campaigns.
Justice says that it does not take into account political views of employees when assigning tasks and that in fact it would be illegal to do so. But Mr. Jordan has asked Department of Justice Inspector General Michael Horowitz to determine how this case landed with Ms. Bosserman, a civil-rights attorney, instead of a prosecutor in the department's public integrity section.
Mr. Jordan says he'd like to get a transcript of Justice's Lerner interview but doubts the department will turn it over since the executive branch still hasn't complied with a Congressional subpoena to turn over all of Ms. Lerner's emails.
While Mr. Jordan is not endorsing a revival of the flawed and expired independent counsel statute, he says "we need a special prosecutor." And he believes that Mr. Horowitz, an Obama appointee, could conduct a serious inquiry. "I would trust Horowitz," he adds.
Mar 7, 2014 16:18:16 #
Just what was that Democratic Representative going to say the other day....that Isso was on a witch hunt?
Mar 7, 2014 16:19:26 #
Just what was that Democratic Representative going to say the other day....that Isso was on a witch hunt? No wonder he shut him down.
Mar 8, 2014 08:18:15 #
ole sarg
Loc: south florida
What a bunch of horseshit!
FAiled to mention that the only groups found out of compliance were two liberal groups.
Don't you just hate the truth!
FAiled to mention that the only groups found out of compliance were two liberal groups.
Don't you just hate the truth!
Mar 8, 2014 10:03:07 #
The Wikipedia article is well balanced and worth reading. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_IRS_scandal
While the only groups to have been turned down in the scandal era were, indeed, liberal, the complaint was never that the IRS had turned down conservative groups. The complaint was always that the IRS had delayed a long time and had not issued approvals for conservative groups. This essentially made them ineffective in the last election. There was evidence that liberal and conservative groups were handled differently in general, with the conservative groups being delayed much longer, and not receiving either approvals or denials in a reasonable time.
While the only groups to have been turned down in the scandal era were, indeed, liberal, the complaint was never that the IRS had turned down conservative groups. The complaint was always that the IRS had delayed a long time and had not issued approvals for conservative groups. This essentially made them ineffective in the last election. There was evidence that liberal and conservative groups were handled differently in general, with the conservative groups being delayed much longer, and not receiving either approvals or denials in a reasonable time.
Mar 8, 2014 10:11:59 #
Violameister wrote:
The Wikipedia article is well balanced and worth r... (show quote)
Welcome to the dark side of the forum Viola, I would caution you that this can be a dark and dangerous place.... People don't often play nice in these forums.
Mar 8, 2014 10:18:47 #
Blurryeyed wrote:
Welcome to the dark side of the forum Viola, I would caution you that this can be a dark and dangerous place.... People don't often play nice in these forums.
In short, these forums are a reflection of society, Washington, and the world. I am old, grey, and prepared. However, I try to avoid nasty while online. I reserve that for my drinking buddies.
Mar 8, 2014 14:09:10 #
SteveR wrote:
Just what was that Democratic Representative going to say the other day....that Isso was on a witch hunt? No wonder he shut him down.
The last Daryl Issa witch hunt uncovered the truth behind Benghazi, Lybia. Issa found out the 3 of the 4 dead Americans were CIA workers in Libya trying to get Libyan ground to air missiles returned to the USA. Libya had up to twenty thousand of them. Issa "outed" the CIA workers killed and soon most of their in country connections were killed by Libyan militia s. Good work Daryl.... now we know what side you're on.
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