GOP fumes over Lerner remarks

 GOP Lerner refused to answer questions before the panel of House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa, so he quickly became the focus of the tea party in the saga that erupted 16 months ago. The former head of the IRS’ tax-exempt division maintained his innocence throughout the interview, but declined to discuss his time with the IRS before the firestorm. Republicans, who voted to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress and held countless hearings berating him for refusing to speak, said it was unfair that he was speaking to the media and not lawmakers.

“His decision to make unsubstantiated allegations to a news outlet while invoking Fifth Amendment protection from answering questions from Congress is telling,” Rep. Issa (R-Calif.) said in a statement Monday. “He appears confident that his allies in the Obama administration will not consider legal action after he backed down and refused to discuss IRS actions against individuals.” The scandal erupted in May 2013 after Lerner admitted, at the behest of his boss, that his department had increased surveillance of conservative groups using keywords such as “tea party.”

A damning inspector general report followed, leading to President Barack Obama firing the acting head of the IRS, congressional hearings and an FBI investigation. Although Lerner admitted to being a Democrat, he said his political views have never influenced his work. Republicans have released emails showing interest in the GOP nonprofit Crossroads GPS, including asking why the group was not audited and suggesting the group should be denied tax exemptions.

House Speaker John Boehner’s staff posted a blog urging Lerner to tell POLITICO that he “doesn’t regret anything I’ve done. “”Thanks to President Obama and his team of cover artists, we still don’t know exactly what that means,” his communications adviser, Matt Wolking, wrote in a blog post.