Lerner has emerged as a silent representation of the House Republicans' inability to find a metaphorical gun, smoking or not, in its ceaseless IRS investigating. Taking up the issue now, though, seems mostly punitive.
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RELATED: Congress Still Hasn't Cracked the IRS Case - but There May Be More Lists A legal expert told The Atlantic Wire that the idea that Lerner had waived her Fifth Amendment right was "bordering on frivolous," but the idea that maybe her oblique comments on the issue could have invalidated her invocation and, therefore, be an undue impediment to progress in the case - well, that was at least feasible. Her appearance was short: Lerner appeared, read a brief statement, verified that a document from the Inspector General's investigation was related to her, and then didn't answer any more questions under her Constitutional protection against self-incrimination. So it was understandable for the committee members to worry that her refusal to testify at that point might impede the committee's investigation. RELATED: These Liberal Buzzwords 'Targeted' by IRS Debunk the Conservative Conspiracy That May 22 hearing was only the third one involving representatives of the IRS on the topic (of at least a dozen so far), and it was the first time those representatives included Lerner. It was less than two weeks after Lerner unexpectedly apologized at the tail end of a speech at a conference, expressing regret for the behavior of her department when it singled out Tea Party groups for additional scrutiny as it considered their applications for tax-exempt status. At the time Lerner first appeared on May 22, hearings on the IRS targeting were still something of a novelty.
The resolution relates to a previous appearance by Lerner before the committee. RELATED: D.C.'s Role in the IRS Scandal Depends on What You Mean by 'D.C.' Perhaps at least it let them blow off a little steam. The vote was a wonderful encapsulation of the state of the IRS scandal: revisiting well-worn ground while both parties scream at each other. Republicans on the House Oversight Committee outnumbered the Democrats in passing a resolution Friday morning determining that IRS executive Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment right to withhold testimony from the committee.
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