I feel compelled to write something about the IRS scandal
and Lois Lerner, the former head of the tax exempt division, who is currently
in the process of “testifying” before Congress concerning her role and
influence in the targeting of conservative groups for “more scrutiny” and
seemingly unfair practices concerning their tax exempt statuses.
On Wednesday, Ms. Lerner went before
Congress and stated that she had done nothing wrong and had not broken any laws
– just before claiming 5th amendment rights and refusing to answer
any questions. I wasn’t the only one who
thought her actions were not only wrong but somewhat unbelievable. She basically told Congress her side of the
story then claimed her 5th amendment right, preventing them from any
cross-examination of her testimony.
In my humble opinion, she waived her
5th amendment rights as soon as she began telling her side of the
story and Congressman Darryl Issa should have held her in contempt of
Congress. How bad can that be? I’m in contempt of Congress on a regular
basis!
I’m not sure what good it would have
done, however. If Ms. Lerner is charged
with a crime, be it obstruction, contempt, or even perjury, she will have to be
prosecuted by the Holder Justice Department.
So the entire thing would most likely be a waste of time and money.
One must ask why Ms. Lerner would
claim she did nothing wrong and had broken no laws then refuse to answer
questions because she could incriminate herself. How can you incriminate yourself if you’ve
done nothing wrong? I’m not sure how
that works.
During an official investigation,
federal employees, as a condition of employment, are required to cooperate and
answer questions. When I worked for the
government, if I would have claimed 5th amendment rights during an
investigation I would have immediately been put on administrative leave or home
duty or something until a determination was made in my case. I would probably have been formally
charged. It took over 24 hours for Ms.
Lerner to be placed on administrative leave – and I’m sure it was only done
because of the outcry from the public.
Making matters worse, in my opinion,
is that Ms. Lerner has been appointed to head the IRS department that will be
over Obamacare. So a woman who is
suspected of targeting conservatives (strictly non-partisan according to the
IRS) will be in charge of deciding who gets certain health care benefits? Gee – that makes me feel safe and secure.
In other news – President Obama has
announced he will appoint Eric Holder to investigate the Justice Department’s
seizing of phone records of journalists and their families in the national
security investigation involving the Associated Press. Mr. Holder, who last week recused himself
from the case and said he really has no knowledge of it because his Assistant
Attorney General is in charge of the investigation, is the perfect person to
investigate something the President wants to go away. Does anyone really believe Holder will be
objective, impartial and fair while investigating his own department for
illegal activities? Besides Obama and
Holder, I mean.
This government is getting more out
of control by the day. Obama claims to
know nothing about anything. Holder
doesn’t know about large scale investigations going on in his own department
(just like he didn’t know about Fast and Furious) and the former head of the
IRS doesn’t know anything about the agency targeting conservative groups. Oh – and Jay Carney still thinks the attack
on Benghazi was caused by a video….
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