Today is now circled on the calendars of every Republican who wants to get a shot at President Obama. One of the central figures of the IRS scandal concerning targeted 501(c)4 groups will go in front of Congress...and plead the Fifth.
The first question that I need to ask is who the hell is this person's lawyer?
From today in Politico:
In a letter to Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), Lerner’s attorney William W. Taylor III cites the Justice Department’s criminal investigation into the issue of whether the IRS singled out tea party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny....
Taylor’s letter requests that Lerner be excused from testifying, but Issa has issued a subpoena to compel her appearance.
“Requiring her to appear at the hearing merely to assert her Fifth Amendment privilege would have no purpose other than to embarrass or burden her,” Taylor wrote.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
Yes, it would. And that is precisely why they are doing it. Now, all her lawyer has done is just made the lions more hungry before they decide to pounce. Yeah, that letter sure did it's job.
Here is another tidbit that I am sure you will enjoy.
Taylor has been involved in several high-profile cases in recent years, including the defense of former IMF President Dominique Strauss-Kahn against criminal assault charges and leading the team that obtained dismissal of claims against former NYSE official and Home Depot co-founder Kenneth Langone, according to the website of his firm, Zuckerman Spaeder.
He has given over $100,000 to Democratic candidates and causes over the years, according to Federal Election Commission records. Taylor donated $57,000 to the Obama Victory Fund in 2008 and $10,000 to the Obama Victory Fund 2012 last year.
Read more: http://www.politico.com/...
No one will notice these things, right?
I have heard a lot of defending of the people of the IRS, but the holes just keep getting deeper for them. As of this writing, there still does not appear to be any connection of this scandal to the White House, but the Republicans have never let the facts get in the way of a good story. The other manufactured scandal concerning Benghazi seems to be gaining little or no traction. The AP controversy (a real one, in my opinion) where the government has been found spying on the media is not being pursued by the Republicans because they like spying on the media.
With this one bush-league move (pun intended), this scandal has suddenly developed legs the strength of Usain Bolt.
How does this woman rank a high-priced attorney like Taylor anyway? He's not exactly a public defender. This only adds to the drama.
Se was the one who let the first word of this scandal slip out (some say planted) at an American Bar Association meeting. Since then she has tried to avoid scrutiny in any way possible, with very little success. Not the most deft of political figures, I must say.
Look, I am all for defending people who are underpaid, overworked and under appreciated. However, I am not sure this applies here. This is, after all, the department of the government that did finally get Al Capone. They have a reputation of being a very scary bunch. (The words "IRS audit" sends chills up anyone's spine.) Is it really that much of a stretch to say that some in that bureau might have gotten crazy with power?
The one good thing that the President has going for him is that this woman seems to have been in government since he graduated high school. I am hoping (praying, frankly) that there is no e-mail lying around from her that made it to his desk or a picture of them together in some vacuous photo op that conservatives will scoop up in their attempt to arrange a kind of bloodless coup.
Unfortunately, because this woman is going to keep her mouth shut, the mystery of all of this deepens. And that is not good.