Oversight Committee votes to hold Lois Lerner in Contempt of the Congress

 Earlier today the Oversight Committee voted to hold Lois Lerner in Contempt of the Congress for pleading her Fifth Amendment right instead of testifying in front of the Congress. This means that at some point the full House will vote on Contempt charges and if this happens the case will be referred to the Justice Department.

  Here is part of what Darrell Issa had to say:

“Today, the oversight committee upheld its obligation to pursue the truth about the IRS targeting of Americans because of their political beliefs,” Issa, said in a Thursday statement. “Our investigation has found that former IRS Exempt Organizations division Director Lois Lerner played a central role in the targeting scandal and then failed to meet her legal obligations to answer questions after she waived her right not to testify. In demanding answers and holding a powerful government official accountable for her failure to meet her legal obligations, this committee did its job. If the House takes up and passes the resolution, the matter will be referred to the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, which statute requires he take to a grand jury.”

  While there is nobody that wants to get to the bottom of this scandal, and while I firmly believe that Lois Lerner played a part in this scandal, I simply cannot get passed this whole notion of a person waiving their Fifth Amendment right simply by stating they did nothing wrong before invoking the Fifth Amendment.

  I believe that Lois Lerner is hiding something, and if Darrell Issa has the proof he claims he has that she is indeed hiding something than it would be appropriate to create a select committee to investigate the scandal and bring her to justice through the courts, otherwise this is nothing but a dog and pony show designed to give us the impression the Congress is doing something while accomplishing nothing.

 While I want to see her brought to justice I do not want it to be at the expense of the Constitution or her Fifth Amendment right, for remember this; if she can lose her Fifth Amendment right so can you and I. Be careful what you wish for, that is all I am trying to say…..