House Oversight and Government Reform chairman Rep. Darrell Issa has called on Attorney General Eric Holder to provide information about the interview ex-IRS official Lois Lerner gave to the Department of Justice (DOJ) about her role in the IRS targeting scandal.
Issa and Oversight member Rep. Jim Jordan sent a letter to Holder, obtained by The Daily Caller, requesting “All documents and communications referring or relating to the scope, timing, and scheduling of the DOJ’s interview of Lois Lerner” and “All documents and communications between or among the DOJ, or other federal law enforcement agencies, and Lois Lerner or her counsel referring or relating to immunity for Ms. Lerner.”
Issa and Jordan also asked Holder whether Lerner tried to invoke her Fifth Amendment rights during the interview with DOJ attorneys, and whether she refused to answer any questions.
TheDC reported a March 5 revelation by Lerner’s attorney Bill Taylor that the ex-IRS official gave a private “Q&A” with the DOJ that was not under oath.
“We haven’t heard anything back” from the DOJ regarding the meeting, Taylor said. “I don’t expect we will.”
Obama political donor Barbara Bosserman is leading the DOJ’s investigation, which has been roundly criticized by people close to the case.
“For over eight months, the Committee has sought to carry out its oversight obligations in concert with the Department of Justice’s law-enforcement duties,” wrote Issa and Jordan. “At every stage, the Department has refused to fully cooperate with the Committee.”
Rep. Jordan previously told TheDC that Oversight is “moving” toward holding Lerner in contempt after she refused to answer questions at a March 5 hearing. Though Democratic Oversight ranking member Elijah Cummings claimed that Issa could not hold Lerner in contempt, Issa shot back with a letter explaining exactly how Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights and can still be held in contempt to compel her to testify.