Politics

Lois Lerner sits in her lavish house on $2.4 million property as she awaits possible contempt charge

Patrick Howley Political Reporter
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Ex-IRS official Lois Lerner is living the life of a private citizen at her more-than $2.4 million property in Bethesda, Md. while Republicans consider holding a House floor vote to hold her in contempt of Congress.

The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee voted 21-12 to hold Lerner in contempt last week after she waived her Fifth Amendment rights but continued to stonewall the committees investigation into the IRS targeting scandal. The measure was opposed by all 12 of the committee’s Democrats, including Ranking Member Rep. Elijah Cummings, whose staff requested information from the IRS about a conservative non-profit applicant group under agency scrutiny.

California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa said that congressional investigators “need Ms. Lerner’s testimony to complete our oversight work and bring truth to the American people.”

Lerner’s contempt charge must be approved by a floor vote in the Republican-controlled House before it heads to the courts. Speaker of the House John Boehner recently predicted that the House would support the measure. A floor vote has yet to be scheduled on the matter.

Lerner’s secluded house, located on a tree-lined street, has multiple white-painted porches, a long winding driveway, and at least seven windows gazing out over a well-manicured front lawn.

The 6,500-square foot house, built in 2000, is situated on a property assessed at $2,474,520. The home is owned by Lerner and her husband, Michael Miles, a Washington-based corporate insurance lawyer and partner at the politically-connected law firm Sutherland, Asbill & Brennan.

Miles previously served as an attorney in the Office of the Chief Counsel of the IRS.

Image from Google Maps Street View.

Image from Google Maps Street View.

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