After refusing for the last 16 months to speak to Congress about the IRS targeting scandal, Lois Lerner, former head of the IRS Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division, had a two hour interview with news organization Politico. In the article, Lerner denies wrongdoing and expresses pride in her career, telling Politico she is not sorry for anything she did. She stated: “I’m proud of my career and the job I did for this country.”
As you can imagine, conservatives are not happy. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chair Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said in a statement: “The American people deserve the opportunity to hear Lois Lerner’s testimony under oath. If Lerner had nothing to hid and did nothing wrong in the IRS targeting scandal, she would have chosen to answer basic questions about her conduct instead of obstructing Congress’ investigation.”
The American Center for Law and Justice, which is representing 41 organizations in a federal lawsuit challenging the IRS for improper treatment, believes Lerner’s interview reflects her “arrogance” and call this a “self-serving attempt” to “re-write history.”
Another representative of groups suing the IRS hopes the interview will ignite the House’s effort to enforce its contempt citation.
Is Lerner having her cake and eating it, too, or is she “right” to talk with Politico instead of Representative Issa’s committee?