Washington, D.C.– Congressman Erik Paulsen (MN-03) joined his colleagues in the U.S. House of Representatives to hold IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt for obstructing investigations into the IRS targeting of political groups. With the passage of the resolution, the charge will be referred to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia.

“We‘re only a few days away from the one year anniversary of the IRS admitting they inappropriately targeted certain Americans based on their political beliefs,” said Paulsen. “It’s unconscionable nobody has been held accountable for these actions.”

Background:

Last month, the House Committee on Ways and Means—on which Paulsen serves—sent a referral to U.S. Attorney General Erik Holder asking for criminal prosecution to be considered. Based on obtained emails, the committee found there was reason to believe Lerner illegally targeted specific political groups, impeded an Inspector General investigation by providing misleading statements, and exposed confidential taxpayer information. The Ways and Committee assembled a timeline of actions taken by Lois Lerner to target conservative political organizations:

Timeline of Lois Lerner’s Targeting of Conservatives

March-April 2010: 
IRS Targeting Begins :  According to TIGTA, the IRS’s Determinations Unit “began searching for other requests for exemption involving the Tea Party, Patriots, 9/12 and IRC § 501(c)(4) applications involving political sounding names, e.g., 'We the People' or 'Take Back the Country.'"

October 19, 2010:
Lerner on Alert:  Speaking to students at Duke University, Lois Lerner states that 501(c)(4) organizations were spending money on campaign activity in the wake of the Citizens United decision and claimed, “[E]verybody is screaming at us, ‘fix it now before the election….”

February 2011:
Lerner Calls Conservatives “Dangerous,” Start to Take Control:  Lois Lerner sends email to IRS employees “Tea Party Matter very dangerous ….Cincy should probably NOT have these cases.”

June 3, 2011:     
Congressional Inquiries Begin: Chairman Camp sends letter to Commissioner Shulman inquiring about IRS targeting of taxpayers who donated money to conservative groups, as well as information regarding audits of 501(c)(4) organizations.

July 10, 2012:   
Lerner’s Mindset Revealed :  Lois Lerner, in response to a story sent to her regarding the complaint to the FEC against Crossroads GPS replies “Perhaps the FEC will save the day.”

July 17, 2012:    
Lerner Starts to Prepare Cover Story : Lerner sent an email to Holly Paz and Nikole Flax offering comments on a talking point that referred to an “uptick in political advocacy cases,” drafted for then-Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement Steve Miller.  However, Lerner admits that, “I know we don't have published SOI stats” to support such a claim."

December 14, 2012:    
IRS Leaks :  Crossroads GPS’s application is leaked to ProPublica, though the tax-exempt status of the group had not been determined, a violation of federal law.   

November 2, 2012:  
Lerner Misleads TIGTA : Lerner sends misleading response to TIGTA investigatory audit questionnaire.

January 4, 2013: 
Lerner Leaps Into Action :  Lerner organizes a meeting with Democracy 21 and also with the Office of Chief Counsel and the Office of Tax Policy at the Department of the Treasury for January 4.  This begins a series of specific actions by Lerner that targets only conservative groups.

January 4, 2013:
Lerner Pressures Review Committee :  Lerner inquires to the status of Crossroads, and finds that the group had not been selected for audit.  She subsequently sent an email to the Director of Examinations in Dallas, TX, Nanette Downing, demanding to know why the group had not yet been audited.  In her email to Downing, she notes that she wants all moves regarding Crossroads to be coordinated in DC.

January 24, 2013:    
Lerner Ponders Job for Obama Organization : In response to a news story about the formation of the President’s Organizing For Action, a 501(c)(4), Lerner remarked to EO Senior Technical Advisor Sharon Light, “Oh—maybe I can get the DC office job!”

January 31, 2013:    
Lerner Attempts to Influence Independent Appeals Process :  In an email to the Chief of IRS Appeals, Chris Wagner, Lerner offers unsolicited advice on the independent appeals process notwithstanding a prohibition against such contact.

May 10, 2013:     
Lerner Misleads Public :  At an American Bar Association function, Lois Lerner, director of the IRS’s Exempt Organizations Division, publicly apologizes for what she claimed were inappropriate actions by the Cincinnati office of the IRS to subject conservative groups to extra scrutiny.

Paulsen, a champion of small business and advocate of free enterprise, entrepreneurship, and innovation, serves on the House Ways and Means Committee, the bicameral Joint Economic Committee, and is co-chair of the Congressional Medical Technology Caucus.

For more information on Congressman Paulsen’s work in Congress visit Paulsen.house.gov.

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