Federal Eye: Justice Department will not seek contempt charges against Lois Lerner

Ex-Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner, a central figure in the IRStargeting scandal, will not face criminal contempt charges for refusing to testify about the matter before a House oversight committee last year.

Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in a letter this week to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) that he would not bring a criminal case against Lerner, who headed the IRSs exempt-organizations division when the agency inappropriately selected nonprofit advocacy groups for extra scrutiny based on their names and policy positions.

The former officialacknowledged the agencys mistakes at a legal conference in May 2013, days beforethe release of a scathing inspector generals report about the issue.

[Related: Investigators probing for criminal activity with Lois Lerners missing e-mails]

The House approved a contempt resolutionagainst Lernerin May 2014, after she invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify during a hearing with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee. The panels then-chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), insisted that shewaived the right by asserting her innocence during an opening statement.

Machen disagreed with Issa, saying Lerner made only general claimsof innocence and that the Constitution would provide her withan absolute defense should she be prosecuted.

Lerners attorney, William Taylor III, applauded the decision in a statement Wednesday. Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights, he said. It is unfortunate that the majority party in the House put politics before a citizens constitutional rights. Ms. Lerner is pleased to have this matter resolved and looks forward to moving on with her life.

Boehners office criticized the decision and called on the White House to appoint a special counsel to review the IRSs actions.

Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel said in a statement on Wednesday. But unaccountable federal bureaucrats using their power to attack the First Amendment strikes at the heart of our democracy, and the American people deserve the truth.

Aside from the contempt issue, the Justice Department has beeninvestigating the IRS for possible criminal activities related to the targeting matter since May 2013, when Attorney General Eric Holder ordered the probe. On Wednesday, the agency said it is working to complete the review as expeditiously as possible.

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Federal Eye: Justice Department will not seek contempt charges against Lois Lerner