IRS's Lois Lerner won't be charged with contempt

The Obama administration informed Capitol Hill this week that it wont 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 nearly two years ago.

Ms. Lerner, the figure at the center of the IRS tea party targeting scandal, is still facing investigation over the intrusive scrutiny of conservative groups, but the decision by U.S. Attorney Ronald Machen does away with at least some of her legal jeopardy.

Still, Republicans were furious with the decision by Mr. Machen, who issued it on Tuesday, his final day in office before returning to the private sector, saying it raises major questions over the separation of powers and heightens tensions between President Obama and the GOP-led House that voted to hold Ms. Lerner in contempt.

For her part Ms. Lerner, through her lawyer, sounded a triumphant note.

We are gratified but not surprised by todays news, said William W. Taylor III, who has handled Ms. Lerners defense. 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 citizens constitutional rights.

The House Oversight Committee had tried to question Ms. Lerner about the tea party targeting soon after it was revealed in May 2013. Ms. Lerner, a longtime federal bureaucrat, attended the hearing, delivered an opening statement professing her innocence, and then declined to answer any of the panel members questions, citing her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination.

Republicans on the committee said her opening statement amounted to a waiver of those rights, saying she shouldnt be allowed to have her say and then refuse to be cross-examined by committee members.

But Mr. Machen said making a general statement of innocence did not amount to testimony about the actual facts, so Ms. Lerner was in the clear.

The Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense if she were prosecuted for contempt, Mr. Machen said in a statement.

Perhaps just as important as his decision not to prosecute was Mr. Machens defense of his ability to make such a decision in the first place.

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IRS's Lois Lerner won't be charged with contempt