Lois Lerner, former Director of Exempt Organizations for the Internal Revenue Service, is dismissed from the hearing room after invoking her fifth amendment right during a House Oversight and Governmental Reform Committee hearing over alleged targeting of conservative groups, May 22, 2013. Friday, the Justice Department announced it has closed the investigation and will seek no criminal charges against anyone at the agency. Photo by Kevin Dietsch / UPI |
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WASHINGTON, Oct. 23 (UPI) -- The U.S. Department of Justice on Friday said no charges are warranted against the Internal Revenue Service, following a two-year investigation into claims that the government's tax-collecting arm illegally targeted right-wing conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.
Justice officials opened the probe in 2013 amid claims that the IRS was setting its sights on applications from conservative groups. The allegations said the agency singled out their applications for extra scrutiny while liberal groups met no such obstacle.
Friday, the Justice Department announced it had closed the investigation after finding no evidence of illegal activity by the IRS, its employees or former official Lois Lerner.
"Our investigation uncovered substantial evidence of mismanagement, poor judgment and institutional inertia, leading to the belief by many tax-exempt applicants that the IRS targeted them based on their political viewpoints. But poor management is not a crime," Assistant Attorney General for Legislative Affairs Peter J. Kadzik wrote in an eight-page letter Friday. "We found no evidence that any IRS official acted on political, discriminatory, corrupt, or other inappropriate motives that would support a criminal prosecution."
Kadzik also said the investigation -- conducted by the DOJ's criminal and civil rights divisions, the FBI and the Treasury Department's inspector general for tax administration -- found no evidence that any IRS officials attempted to obstruct justice after the fact, either.
Lerner, who was held in contempt of Congress last year for refusing to answer the allegations, was placed on administrative leave during the investigation and ultimately resigned in September 2013. She was the head of the IRS' department responsible for processing tax-exempt applications.
Lerner's attorneys said Friday that they were "gratified but not surprised" by the Justice Department's conclusion.
"Anyone who takes a serious and impartial look at the facts would reach the same conclusion as the Justice Department," Lerner attorney Paul Hynes said. "Ms. Lerner is pleased to have this matter finally resolved and looks forward to moving forward with her life."
Not everyone was pleased by the news, though.
"The Justice Department's decision to close the IRS targeting investigation without a single charge or prosecution is a low point of accountability in an administration that is better known for punishing whistle-blowers than the abuse and misconduct they expose,'' said Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who led congressional hearings into the matter. "Giving Lois Lerner a free pass only reinforces the idea that government officials are above the law and that there is no consequence for wrongdoing."
