WASHINGTON — A Republican-led House committee Friday increased pressure on Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner to break her silence on who in the tax agency was behind decisions to make it more difficult for tea party and other conservative groups to obtain tax-exempt status.
The Oversight and Government Reform Committee, in a 22-17 party line vote, ruled that Lerner, who headed the division that oversaw nonprofits, had forfeited her right to invoke the Fifth Amendment and refuse to answer questions when she appeared before the panel on May 22.
The GOP-written resolution said Lerner gave up her right to silence when she opened the hearing with a statement denying that she had done anything wrong.
"A witness may not testify voluntarily about a subject and then invoke the privilege against self-incrimination when questioned about the details," it said.
Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said that after consulting with House lawyers he was certain that Lerner had waived her Fifth Amendment rights. Witnesses, he said, cannot "give one side of the story and not allow themselves to be cross-examined."
Some Republicans who have aggressively pursued the investigation against IRS harassment if conservative groups saw Lerner's refusal to talk as more than just a legal issue. "Lois Lerner is in fact a poster child for a federal bureaucrat thumbing her nose at Congress," said Rep. John Mica, R-Fla. He said the case was a "showdown" over who is in control of government.
Neither Lerner nor her lawyer were present at Friday's vote and Democrats on the committee said Republicans should have allowed testimony from legal experts on Fifth Amendment protections for people testifying before Congress.
"I want to hear Ms. Lerner's testimony," said Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland, top Democrat on the committee. "But we must respect the constitutional rights of every witness who comes before the committee."