WASHINGTON, D.C. –Today, the House Committee on Ways and Means voted to formally refer former IRS employee Lois Lerner to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on criminal charges. The Committee marked up the criminal referral letter to Attorney General Eric Holder regarding the actions taken by Lerner. Congresswoman Jenkins (KS-02) released the following statement after the hearing:

“The action taken by the Committee today finally debunks the Administration-created myth that the IRS targeting scandal originated with low-level employees in Cincinnati. Based on the documents, emails, and interviews conducted over the course of our nearly year-long investigation, the evidence shows that the selective targeting of conservative organizations was orchestrated from IRS officials in Washington D.C.  As importantly, our action today allows the public the opportunity to know the sad and alarming details that have been uncovered so far. The Department of Justice now has what it needs to pursue Ms. Lerner and has the responsibility to act. We will continue our investigation to ensure that Americans constitutional rights are not violated by those seeking to silence groups based on their political views.”   

The letter to the DOJ can be read here.

From the Ways and Means Committee: The Committee uncovered three specific acts undertaken by Lerner that may have violated one or more criminal statutes documented in the letter:

• Lerner used her position to improperly influence agency action against only conservative organizations, denying these groups due process and equal protection rights under the law.  She showed extreme bias and prejudice towards conservative groups.  The letter lays out evidence on how Lerner targeted conservative organization Crossroads GPS as well as other right-leaning groups, while turning a blind eye to similarly-organized liberal groups, like Priorities USA.
• Lerner impeded official investigations by providing misleading statements in response to questions from the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA).
• Lerner risked exposing, and may actually have disclosed, confidential taxpayer information, in apparent violation of Internal Revenue Code section 6103 by using her personal email to conduct official business.

For a timeline of Lois Lerner’s targeting of conservative groups, click here.

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