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SAM HANANEL, Associated Press 5:33 p.m. EDT April 1, 2015

Lois Lerner, ex-director of the Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division at the IRS, declines to answer questions from Rep. Darrell Issa.(Photo: AFP/Getty Images)

WASHINGTON (AP) The Justice Department won't seek criminal contempt charges against Lois Lerner, the former IRS official at the center of a controversy over how the agency treated conservative political groups.

Ronald Machen, the outgoing U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, announced the decision in a March 31 letter to House Speaker John Boehner that was made public on Wednesday.

The GOP-controlled House had referred the case to federal prosecutors after lawmakers voted last year to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress for her refusal to testify before a pair of committee hearings.

Lerner directed the IRS division that processes applications for tax-exempt status. She set off a political firestorm in 2013 when she disclosed that agents had improperly singled out applications from tea party and other conservative groups for extra, sometimes burdensome scrutiny.

An inspector general's report found no evidence of a political conspiracy, instead blaming poor management at the agency. But many Republicans in Congress remain skeptical.

Lerner invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to answer questions at a hearing before the House Oversight Committee. But House Republicans claim she waived her constitutional right by delivering an opening statement in which she declared her innocence.

In his letter, Machen said a team of "experienced career prosecutors" determined that Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights by making "general claims of innocence."

Machen, whose last day in office was Wednesday, said prosecutors concluded that it would not be appropriate to send contempt charges to a grand jury because the Constitution protects her.

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Justice Dept.: No contempt charges for Lois Lerner

AP Photo

She is still under investigation for a separate tea party targeting matter.

By John Bresnahan and Rachael Bade

4/1/15 2:16 PM EDT

Updated 4/1/15 5:09 PM EDT

The Justice Department will not seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner, the central figure in a scandal that erupted over whether the tax agency improperly targeted conservative political groups.

Ronald Machen, the former U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, told House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) in a seven-page letter this week that he would not bring a criminal case to a grand jury over Lerners refusal to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in March 2014. The House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner in May 2014, and Machens office has been reviewing the issue since then.

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Lerner and other IRS officials, however, are still under investigation by the FBI for the tea party targeting matter which is a separate probe entirely.

Lerner cited her Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate herself during congressional testimony on March 5, 2014, although then-Oversight Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said she had waived that right by giving an opening statement at a hearing 10 months earlier when she asserted her innocence. Issa wanted her charged by the Justice Department with criminal contempt of Congress for failing to answer questions about her role in the scandal.

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DOJ: No contempt charges for former IRS official Lerner

The Department of Justice will not charge former IRS official Lois Lerner for contempt, despite an attempt by members of the House of Representatives to charge her for refusing to testify during a hearing about whether the department unfairly targeted conservative fundraising groups.

Although the House approved a criminal contempt resolution against Lerner last year for invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during a Congressional hearing a right that then-Oversight Committee chairman Darrell Issa (R-CA) said that she had waived prior to the hearing Politico reports that Ronald Machen, the former former U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, will not file said charges against Lerner.

According to Machen, Lerner, who said that she was innocent in a hearing ten months prior to her citing the Fifth Amendment, was still well within her rights to plead the fifth:

Machen said the Oversight Committee followed proper procedures in telling Lerner that it had rejected her claim of privilege and gave her an adequate opportunity to answer the Committees questions. IRS watchdog probing potential criminal activity in Lerner email mess

However, Machen said Justice Department lawyers determined that Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment right by making an opening statement on May 22, 2013, because she made only a general claims of innocence.

Machen added: Given that assessment, we have further concluded that it is not appropriate for a United States Attorney to present the matter to the grand jury for action where, as here, the Constitution prevents the witness from being prosecuted for contempt.

Lerners lawyer welcomed the results, saying that Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at this issue would conclude that Ms. Lerner did not waive her Fifth Amendment rights, and that his client was pleased to have this matter resolved.

[Politico] [Image via screenshot/CSPAN]

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DOJ Wont Charge Lois Lerner for Contempt of Congress

File: May 22, 2013: Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner is sworn in on Capitol Hill, in Washington, D.C.(AP)

The Justice Department has declined to pursue contempt of Congress charges against Lois Lerner for refusing to testify about her role at the IRS in the targeting of conservative groups.

The department announced the decision in a letter Tuesday to House Speaker John Boehner, whose Republican-controlled chamber made the request to prosecute, after holding Lerner in contempt for refusing to testify at committee hearings.

"Once again, the Obama administration has tried to sweep IRS targeting of taxpayers for their political beliefs under the rug, Boehner spokesman Michael Steel told FoxNews.com.

Lerner asserted her Fifth Amendment privilege, which allows people to not testify against themselves, during a May 2013 hearing of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and then again at a March 2014 hearing.

However, House Republicans argued Lerner waived the privilege with an opening statement she made before the committee in the May 2013 appearance. All the chambers Republican members and six Democrats officially voted in May 2014 to hold Lerner in contempt.

Ron Machen Jr., the U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia, said in the seven-page letter that federal prosecutors concluded Lerner did not waive her privilege because she made only general claims of innocence during the opening statement.

Thus, the Fifth Amendment to the Constitution would provide Ms. Lerner with an absolute defense should be prosecuted for her refusal to testify, wrote Machen, who was appointed to the U.S. attorney post by President Obama and left for private practice Wednesday, one day after sending the letter.

He also said he will not refer the case to a grand jury or take any other action to prosecute.

Lerner ran the IRSs exempt organizations unit when Tea Party and other nonprofit groups with conservative names applying for tax-exempt status were targeted for additional auditing from April 2010 to April 2012.

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HOME FREE Justice Dept. won't pursue charges against Lerner

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By: armedwatchman

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