IRS Scandal: Lois Lerner rumored to be retiring
Lois Lerner, the key IRS official at the center of the scandal which outed the agency for targeting of Tea Party, conservative and religious groups, is retiring, Fox News confirmed Monday.
Lerner was the head of the IRS division for tax-exempt status which was targeting certain groups for extra scrutiny over the last 30 months or so.The agency informed some in Congress about the retirement, said a Republican congressional aide, who requested anonymity to discuss the private conversation.
The IRS scrutiny began in early 2010 and affected dozens of tea-party, other grassroots conservative groups and religious groups . Some applicants have remained in “limbo” for years awaiting a decision on their applications, according to an IRS inspector general’s report.
Democrats asserted that some liberal-leaning groups got similar scrutiny, and say no evidence of political bias exists.
Lerner refused to testify before Congress, citing her constitutional protections against self-incrimination.
The reasons for Lerner’s decision to resign weren’t immediately clear. Her lawyer and the IRS didn’t immediately release any comments.
