Arizona congressmen Paul Gosar, and Matt Salmon voted to hold the IRS and its employees accountable. Gosar and Salmon voted both to hold Lois Lerner, the former supervisor of the IRS division that targeted conservative groups, in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with a Congressional subpoena and to demand that Attorney General Eric Holder appoint a Special Counsel to investigate and prosecute the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups.
“As an employee of the federal government, Lois Lerner took an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States. Her behavior, however, was directly contradictory to the Constitution. As a former public servant, Mrs. Lerner has an obligation to give the American people answers as to why their government chose to target specific groups based on their political ideologies. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, on which I serve, subpoenaed Mrs. Lerner to provide those answers, but she refused to comply by asserting her right to remain silent under the Fifth Amendment. However, before pleading the Fifth, she declared her innocence, thereby waiving her right to remain silent. She has since continued her refusal to testify, which is why I voted to hold her in contempt.
“Americans have understandably lost confidence in the federal government due to the slew of President Obama’s scandals, including the IRS targeting scandal. In order to restore their confidence, the government must vigorously investigate these abuses and hold the responsible individuals accountable. To date, no one has been held accountable for the targeting of conservative organizations by the IRS. To remedy that sad fact, I also voted to demand that Attorney General Eric Holder appoint a special prosecutor to lead this investigation so that there will be a singular focus on uncovering the truth and prosecuting the perpetrators.
“Attempting to silence and intimidate any group for their political beliefs is contrary to the freedoms of speech and assembly guaranteed by the First Amendment to the Constitution. There is no question that the IRS targeted conservative groups in an attempt to stifle their political activities. The only remaining questions are who instigated the targeting, whether the White House was involved, who should be fired and who should go to jail.”
Congressman Matt Salmon said, “After months of being stonewalled by former IRS official Lois Lerner, the House voted on a resolution to find her in contempt of Congress for her refusal to comply with a subpoena. Sunlight is the best disinfectant and I am disappointed in Ms. Lerner’s refusal to answer questions about the IRS’s actions targeting Americans and conservative organizations. Moving forward, I hope she will choose the path of cooperation, instead of obstruction and work with the committee to get the American people the answers they deserve.
“Last May, I called for Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor for the purpose of fully and independently investigating the targeting of conservative, non-profit groups by the Internal Revenue Service. Sadly, the Attorney General has refused to make an appointment, which is well within his purview. That is why I am pleased the House took up and passed a resolution to officially direct him to do so. Answers are long overdue and it is clear a special prosecutor is needed to investigate this scandal fully, fairly, without bias, or undue influence,” continued Salmon.
“Once again, this Administration is unwilling to give the American public the answers they deserve. As we move forward with these initiatives, my hope is that we can begin to restore the trust between the American people and their federal government.”