Washington — A House committee Wednesday recommended criminal prosecution of Lois Lerner over the alleged targeting of conservative groups by the Internal Revenue Service, the latest bid by Republicans to keep the issue alive ahead of the midterm elections.
The House Ways and Means Committee voted 23-14 to forward to the Justice Department its findings that Lerner, the former director of the IRS division tasked with policing entities with tax-exempt status, “may have violated multiple federal criminal statutes.”
A 14-page letter to U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. outlines the committee’s findings and recommends three potential charges: that Lerner improperly influenced the agency to target conservative organizations in violation of their constitutional rights; that she impeded a congressional investigation through “misleading statements” to a Treasury inspector general; and that she may have improperly disclosed confidential taxpayer information, a felony offense.
Democrats objected, saying the Justice Department already is investigating.
