Internal
Revenue Service Director of Exempt Organizations Lois Lerner leaves a
hearing of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after
refusing to testify on May 22, 2013 in Washington, D.C. The committee is
investigating allegations that the IRS targeted conservative nonprofit
organizations with “Tea Party,” “patriot” and other words in their names
for additional scrutiny. Lerner, who headed the division that oversees
exempt organizations, exercised her constitutional right not to answer
questions. (Getty Images)
The Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the political targeting scandal
invoked her constitutional right not to answer lawmakers’ questions on
Wednesday, but defiantly asserted that she has done nothing wrong —
prompting confusion about how exactly she was using her right not to
incriminate herself.
Lois Lerner leads the IRS office that determines which organizations receive tax-exempt status, and was the first to publicly disclose earlier this month that the IRS gave extra scrutiny to conservative groups.
“I have not done anything wrong, I have
not broken any laws, I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations
and I have not provided false information to this or any other
congressional committee,” Lerner told House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee members. “While I would very much like to answer the
committee’s questions today, I have been advised by my counsel to assert
my constitutional right not to testify or answer questions related to
the subject manner of this hearing.”
Lerner added that by asserting her
right not to testify, “I know that some people will assume I have done
something wrong. I have not. One of the basic functions of the Fifth
Amendment is to protect innocent individuals, and that is the protection
I am invoking today.”
House
Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) noted that because
Lerner had asserted her innocence in her opening statement, “I believe
you have not asserted your rights but have effectively waived your
rights” and took her refusal to answer as a refusal to testify.
An incensed
Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.) spoke up that Lerner should testify, agreeing
that she already waived her constitutional privilege.
“You don’t
get to tell your side of the story and not be subjected to
cross-examination. That’s not the way it works. She waived her right to
Fifth Amendment privilege by issuing an opening statement, she ought to
stand here and answer our questions,” Gowdy said, earning applause from
the audience.
This post has been updated.
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