Oversight Report: Lois Lerner's Role in IRS Targeting

Press Release

House Oversight and Government Reform Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today released a new staff report, "Lois Lerner's Involvement in the IRS Targeting of Tax-Exempt Organizations." The report details Ms. Lerner's role in the Internal Revenue Service (IRS)'s targeting of conservative groups in her position as the IRS Director of Exempt Organizations, the division that led the targeting effort. As Ms. Lerner is the only IRS official who has refused to testify to Congress, this report relies on e-mails, documents, and other testimony about her cracking down on tax exempt organizations that exercise their rights to free political speech. The Oversight Committee continues to conduct a broad investigation of IRS targeting abuses beyond Ms. Lerner's personal role.

"In the wake of Ms. Lerner's refusal to testify and answer questions, this report offers detailed evidence about steps she took to crack down on organizations that exercised their Constitutional rights to free political speech," said Chairman Issa. "She involved herself in efforts to apply unprecedented scrutiny to new applicants, existing organizations, and to write new rules after President Obama and other prominent Democrats expressed outrage at the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision. Finally, the report presents evidence that Ms. Lerner misled Congress about targeting and her own conduct."

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