House oversight committee Chairman Darrell Issa renewed his call Monday for ex-IRS official Lois Lerner to testify before Congress, following her Politico interview in which she reasserted her innocence, and said she’s “not sorry for anything.”
In the first media interview since the scandal broke in May of 2013, the former head of the tax-exempt unit claimed she “didn’t do anything wrong,” and was “never partisan.”
“I’m proud of my career and the job I did for this country,” the 63-year-old Lerner, who also is a lawyer, said in the roughly two-hour interview.
Which begs the obvious question: why has she twice refused to answer questions before Congress?
Rep. Issa, R-Calif. made the following statement in response to the interview.
“The American people deserve the opportunity to hear Lois Lerner’s testimony under oath,” Issa said in a statement. “If Lerner had nothing to hide and did nothing wrong in the IRS targeting scandal, she would have chosen to answer basic questions about her conduct instead of obstructing Congress’ investigation. Her decision to make unsubstantiated claims to a media outlet while claiming Fifth Amendment protections from answering Congress’ questions is telling.”
Issa also claimed that Lerner “appears to have great confidence that her allies in the Obama administration will not consider legal action.”
Another member of the Oversight Committee seconded Issa’s call, via the Washington Examiner:
Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., a member of the Oversight panel, said if Lerner is willing to speak to a media outlet, she should testify before Congress.
“Ms. Lerner stated in her interview that she wanted to tell her side of the story,” Meadows said. “As a Member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee who has spent countless hours trying to get to the bottom of this scandal, I speak for myself and my colleagues when I say that we would be more than happy to return to Washington to hear Ms. Lerner’s side of the story. “