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[STK]
[IN]
[SU] AVO LAW EXE
TO LEGAL AFFAIRS, AND NATIONAL EDITORS:
ACLJ: Former IRS Official Lois Lerner Continues To Stonewall By
Refusing To Answer Congressional Questions
WASHINGTON, March 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American
Center for Law and Justice (ACLJ), which represents 41 organizations
in a federal lawsuit challenging the IRS, said today's decision by
former IRS official Lois Lerner to once again attempt to invoke her
Fifth Amendment right not to testify before a Congressional panel
represents a troubling continuation of the stonewalling designed to
prevent Congress from getting the truth about the unlawful scheme
targeting conservative organizations.
"The fact is Lois Lerner - a key figure in this unlawful scheme -
could have provided meaningful testimony today to shed light on the
facts behind the IRS scheme to target conservatives," said Jay
Sekulow, Chief Counsel of the ACLJ. "Instead of providing the truth,
she once again continued her strategy of stonewalling - refusing to
provide Congress with the information needed to determine the depth
and scope of this illegal targeting campaign. Today's decision by
Lerner to refuse to answer any questions about the scheme is deeply
troubling and reflects the non-existent level of cooperation by
current and former Obama Administration officials in this
investigation. It's been nearly 10 months since Lerner revealed this
scheme and apologized. Her failure to follow-up that apology with
Congressional testimony is an insult to the American people."
Lerner, who refused to answer questions before Congress in May 2013,
today repeated that constitutional claim and refused to answer
questions at a hearing before the House Oversight and Government
Reform Committee.
Chairman Darrell Issa repeatedly asked Lerner questions about her
involvement in the scheme - including Lerner's participation in
drafting new rules "off-plan" so that they wouldn't be initially
publicly-disclosed.
In its federal lawsuit, the ACLJ represents 41 organizations in 22
states. Of the 41 groups, 24 organizations received tax-exempt status
after lengthy delays, 11 are still pending, 5 withdrew applications
because of frustration with the IRS process, and 1 had their file
closed by the IRS after refusing to answer the unconstitutional
requests for more information.
Led by Chief Counsel Jay Sekulow, the American Center for Law and
Justice (ACLJ), focusing on constitutional law, is based in
Washington, D.C. and is online at www.aclj.org.
MEDIA CONTACTS: For Print: Gene Kapp (757) 575-9520 For Broadcast:
Alison Geist or Chandler Epp (770) 813-0000
SOURCE American Center for Law and Justice
-0- 03/05/2014
/Web Site: http://www.aclj.org
CO: American Center for Law and Justice
ST: District of Columbia
SU: AVO LAW EXE
PRN
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0000 03/05/2014 16:30:00 EDT http://www.prnewswire.com
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