Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Top IRS Official Will Invoke Fifth Amendment

Per the L.A. Times, Lois Lerner (the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS) is scheduled to testify before Congress tomorrow. Apparently, she's not planning on saying much.

For those of y'all who don't know, the Fifth Amendment protects witnesses from being forced to incriminate themselves. You don't get to invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection just because an answer would be embarrassing. You don't get to invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection just because an answer would be politically embarrassing. You only get to invoke the Fifth Amendment's protection when your response would expose you to criminal prosecution.

Well, well, well...Everyone was telling me that no crime was committed here. Accordingly, I'm slightly puzzled at why the head of the IRS division would invoke her right to be protected from criminal liability. I hope it's on TV tomorrow. Apparently, she knows something big enough that the old "I don't remember" won't even cut it.

Shit status: real


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