The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for refusing to testify about the agency’s targeting of conservative groups.
The House voted 231-187 for a resolution holding Lerner in contempt. All Republicans voted yes, along with six Democrats.
Lerner’s case will now be sent to the Justice Department, which then must decide whether to essentially prosecute Lerner in the case.
Minutes after the Lerner vote, the House passed a separate resolution asking the Department of Justice to appoint a special counsel to probe the IRS over the scandal, by a vote of 250-168.
House Speaker John Boehner issued a statement following the vote saying, "It’s time for Lois Lerner to account for her actions, and if she won’t then the full force of the law should be brought to bear."
Lerner's attorney William M. Taylor III slammed the contempt vote as a partisan exercise. "Today's vote has nothing to do with the facts or the law. Its only purpose is to keep the baseless IRS 'conspiracy' alive through the mid-term elections," he said in a statement. "Ms. Lerner has not committed contempt of Congress." Fox News
As I am fond of pointing out, if contempt for Congress is a crime then about 90% of Americans should be behind bars.
ReplyDeleteMeh, it's another bucket of shit flung against the wall in order to see what sticks. The bigger agenda is to, A) keep this nonsense alive during mid terms and B) send a message the Republican congress will go nuclear if the IRS investigates the use of tax exempt status by political hacks. Ultimately, what is at stake is the ability to buy elections without knowing where the money is coming from.
ReplyDeleteJust what exactly would merit a Congressional hearing in your view?
DeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteKing, I thought this link was kind of interesting, especially the last several paragraphs http://www.popehat.com/2014/03/05/a-few-notes-on-lois-lerner-and-the-fifth-amendment/ Here is another interesting link http://www.nbcnews.com/id/19693051/ns/politics/t/what-contempt-congress/#.U2wH4eZdU2M
DeleteNear as I can tell, to bring some kind of legal punishment to this person, the Department of Justice would have to prosecute it. Given that the DOJ is currently headed by Eric Holder, I tend to think that it is highly unlikely that the DOJ is going to prosecute this case. Objectively, someone might ask, if the outcome is almost assured that the DOJ will not take this case up, why go through the process unless theatrics is what you truly seek? As was mentioned on the first link I posted, if the Republicans truly believed there was a bigger fish to fry, namely Obama, they would give this woman immunity in order to get proof that Obama spearheaded this effort to target right leaning political groups.
Considering that probably 65% of everything that happens in Washington today is chicanery, it's hard for me to view this as anything but. Personally, I believe a lot of these political groups, both left and right, abuse the tax code to create giant money bombs that are detonated in our elections with the sole intent of destroying democracy and silencing the view of anyone who doesn't have enough money to get their message out. I wish the IRS would target more of them, but like I said, in addition to wanting to appear like they are fighting a goliath, the Republicans and likely some Democrats want to protect the right to buy elections. Just my take.
Just reading the article and the posts which follow, I am wondering if the Fifth Amendment applies in congressional hearings as well as the law courts. In any way you look at the story, there is a question of both fairness and political chicanery here.
ReplyDeleteDoes the 5th Amendment allow you to make an open statement claiming your innocence then say, I'm claiming the 5th?
ReplyDeleteWhat difference does it make? The DOJ works for the WH and would never prosecute Lerner. All in all, another useless gesture as was fast and furious.
What's missing is honesty and integrity, neither party has an ounce.
No disagreement here. That first link I posted talked about the 5th and it's an interesting question.
DeleteIn any case, they hold her in contempt of congress, so what. Maybe they can get Holder to prosecute her, LOL.
DeleteHolder won't prosecute anything.
DeleteIt's not about that.
It's about stacking crap a mile high until at some point everyone has to notice.
http://www.scribd.com/mobile/doc/222704929?width=360
"It's about stacking crap a mile high until at some point everyone has to notice."
Delete"Street artists" probably feel the same about the graffiti they leave on walls.
One day after holding Lois Lerner in contempt the congress received notice that the IRS will release emails. These emails were requested one year ago.
ReplyDeleteCould it be that these IRS minions don't want to end up in jail? Look for Ms. Lerner to soon be chirping like a magpie.
Throw the bitch in jail. As Lou stated above, if she wanted to take the 5th, she should have taken the 5th and not professed innocence for fifteen minutes then refused to answer any questions with regard to political tampering.
DeleteI totally agree. How dare this bitch make such grandstanding statements and then not answer any questions about it. Only committee chairs have that right.
DeleteCommittee chairs are under oath? Is that like Harry under oath standing at the podium making baseless accusations?
DeletePlease, this is the feral government we are talking about. Where no one is ever fired, no one is reprimanded and no one ever goes to jail.
Actually, hundreds of Congressmen and minor government functionaries have been fired and seen time behind bars. Here is a list:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_politicians_convicted_of_crimes
Kingston, during the McCarthy era, people who "took the fifth" when called before the House Unamerican Activities Committee were considered to be guilty. Many had their careers ruined by HUAC. Is that where we are headed?
ReplyDeleteThis may provoke some adverse comment here but I am old enough to remember the McCarthy hearings. Here in Australia there was widespread coverage and perhaps because of our close ties with the US and our equal level of distrust for the communist movement, some of us feared for the freedom our fathers had fought for.
DeleteSoon however it became obvious that a witch hunt was underway and the Star Chamber was alive and well. I remember asking an American friend if it was reasonable to compare the happenings in congress to the Salem Witch trials. My friend thought for a minute then said it was worse; in Salem the participants were not educated
We saw what appeared to be draconian measures applied to just about anyone that Joe and his staff wanted to investigate. We saw so called proof after proof and the accused trashed for the rest of his life. One prominent name to suffer, guilty or not, was Oppenhiemer the man who shortened the war by some years.
I somehow feel that your second amendment was found to be sadly wanting during those days .From an outsider’s point of view; this was the worst example of government excess in your history. Whatever the faults of the present system of government, I am sure the people would never again stand by and watch another McCarthy era unfold.
Cheers from Aussie
"Whatever the faults of the present system of government, I am sure the people would never again stand by and watch another McCarthy era unfold."
DeleteOn this Kingston, I am not so sure. What ultimately lead to articles of impeachment for Bill Clinton had absolutely nothing to do with what a special investigator had spent millions of dollars investigating. Ultimately, Republicans DID pay a political price for that as a believe a majority of Americans were even more disgusted by the process than the act of what Clinton actually lied about. Now that the seal has been broken, so to speak, militant badgering by committees no longer looks out of place and having the power to form committees means that you can endlessly pound the same pavement over and over and over and over until you hit on something else that you might be able to make a case of.
For the average person in America who is worried about putting food on their table and finding a job, I honestly believe that this IRS charade and Benghazi are meaningless to them. I really don't think they are paying attention to this charade the way the politically rabid are. Life experience tells me that those who doth protest too much tend to be the ones with an agenda.
Check wiki for mcCarthy's connections with the Kennedy family.
Deletewhy?
DeletePretty much Mick. They just call them socialists today instead of communists. And by the way they think it is the same thing which it is not.
ReplyDeleteSocialist = patient Communist
DeleteAmong those well-known artists accused of communist sympathies or called before the committee were Dashiell Hammett, Waldo Salt, Lillian Hellman, Lena Horne, Paul Robeson, Elia Kazan, Arthur Miller, Aaron Copland, Leonard Bernstein, Charlie Chaplin and Group Theatre members Clifford Odets, Elia Kazan, and Stella Adler. In all, three hundred and twenty artists were blacklisted, and for many of them this meant the end of exceptional and promising careers.
DeleteDuring this time there were few in the press willing to stand up against McCarthy and the anti-Communist machine. Among those few were comedian Mort Sahl, and journalist Edward R. Murrow, whose strong criticisms of McCarthy are often cited as playing an important role in his eventual removal from power. By 1954, the fervor had died down and many actors and writers were able to return to work. Though relatively short, these proceedings remain one of the most shameful moments in modern U.S. history.
From PBS American Masters
I'm not going to stand up for McCarthy. I was just born and have no personal knowledge of his exploits. It is well know that Morrow was an early RV propagandist. He would show McCarthy and others is less than favorable cameos. As for PBS and their propaganda mill they do it as smoothly as anyone in history.
Delete"RFK made his bones as a staffer for Joseph McCarthy however RFK's memory is kept pure by the propaganda press to this day."
The House un-American activities committee was started by Democrats in 1938.
"As for PBS and their propaganda mill they do it as smoothly as anyone in history."
DeleteDo you ever read anything from a source you don't already agree with and view it objectively?
The PBS article cited above is completely factual William. I was born in 1939 and I remember McCarthy very well, watched some ot the hearings on our new fangled television.
DeleteAnd you formed your opinion between the ages of 10 and 15. What were there at that time Mick 3 TV channels? I'm sure there was a great diversity of opinion for you to draw from. Like today, all the celebrated socialists/progressives were influential in much of the very limited media.
DeleteThis explains many of your postings here Mick. Thinking that PBS is anything less than a conduit for the left is laughable.
Have read the Wiki entry for background.Can anyone please supply a reference for the Congressional transcript in which MS Lerner claimed the 5th. I am particularly interested in any statement to the hearing by MS Lerner.
ReplyDeleteCheers from Aussie
Here is a video of the May meeting.
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iv1IST4VVVU
Thank you Mick. I smell rotten fish but whether from the head or the tail end,not yet sure
DeleteCheers from Aussie
Filed more taxes today, Cincinnati Ohio. So glad that due to the fact that I am affiliated with a Tea Party group that my chances for an audit are approximately 10% versus a 1% chance for the rest of you.
DeleteI'll keep you posted as to how I make out.
"So glad that due to the fact that I am affiliated with a Tea Party group that my chances for an audit are approximately 10% versus a 1% chance for the rest of you."
DeleteBadump dump, ching! I'd say be kind to your waiters and tip well, but that will only encourage them to not get better jobs.