IRS Scandal: Republicans Seek Details on Lerner Interview
House Republicans on Thursday asked the Justice Department to turn over information concerning an interview a former top Internal Revenue Service official gave to prosecutors in recent months, while she was declining to answer GOP lawmakers questions.
The official, Lois Lerner, is at the center of a controversy over IRS targeting of conservative tea party groups for special scrutiny.
Republicans are unhappy that Ms. Lerner gave Justice Department prosecutors a full interview on the matter while refusing to answer lawmakers questions.
The new letter from Republicans on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee to Attorney General Eric Holder asks for Justice Department communications about the Lerner interview, but stops short of demanding the interview transcript. Thats apparently because the investigation is ongoing.
Ms. Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination at a House hearing last year and again this month. Following the second House hearing, her lawyer disclosed at a press conference that Ms. Lerner had given the interview to the Justice Department, as part of that agencys probe into the IRS matter.
She spoke without any grant of immunity, they said. Her lawyers decided to allow the interview because prosecutors havent prejudged the case, said lawyer William Taylor III. The Republican lawmakers only want to vilify Ms. Lerner, he said.
The new letter from the Republican lawmakers asks for Justice Department communications about the Lerner interview, but stops short of demanding the interview transcript. Thats apparently because the investigation is ongoing.
The department didnt respond to a request for comment.
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