WASHINGTON DC – Former IRS Commissioner Lois Lerner's peaceful and lucrative taxpayer funded retirement may face disturbance if a letter Illinois Congressman Peter Roskam (06 CD) and Chairman of the House Means and Ways Committee Kevin Brady (TX-08) wrote to Attorney General Jeff Sessions is persuasive enough.
The two asked the AG to "take a fresh look" at accusations and evidence that Lerner inappropriately used her position to influence IRS conduct against conservative organizations requesting 501(c)4 status, "denying the groups due process and equal protection rights under the law."
Among the conservative groups that received unfair treatment were the West Suburban Patriots, a conservative group based in Roskam's district. Another area conservative group, United to Restore Freedom, also applied in the same time frame.
The West Suburban Patriots was among several Illinois groups that were extensively questioned as early as 2011. Despite increased attention from the IRS, the West Suburban Patriots eventually was granted 501c4 status while United to Restore Freedom's mounting legal costs caused them to cease the process and eventually dissolve.
In the letter sent to Sessions this week, Roskam and Brady allege that in 2013, Lerner impeded official Congressional investigations and may have disclosed conditional taxpayer information while using her personal email account to conduct official business.
Then-Attorney General Eric Holder brought no charges against Lerner, following then-President Barack Obama's public comments that there was "not a smidgeon of corruption" at the IRS.
In order to restore the public's confidence in the IRS, "Taxpayers deserve to know that the DOJ's previous evaluation was not tainted by politics," the letter says.
