Former head of tax exempt groups at the IRS Lois Lerner, the woman who infamously plead the Fifth after apologizing for inappropriate targeting of tea party groups by the agency, has been asked to appear in front of the Oversight Committee next week according to Chairman Darrell Issa. Issa wrote a letter to Lerner's attorney this week, saying he expected her to be in front of Congress on March 5. Lerner retired last fall after taking three months of paid leave over the summer. More from The Hill:
In his letter to William Taylor, Lerner's attorney, Issa said that her testimony "remains critical to this committee's investigation."
"Because the committee explicitly rejected her Fifth Amendment privilege claim, I expect her to provide answers when the hearing reconvenes on March 5," Issa wrote.
Not surprisingly, Ranking Member Elijah Cummings, who allegedly encouraged the IRS to target conservative groups like True the Vote, is objecting to Lerner testifying and is accusing Republicans of being political in an election year.
In case you need a refresher, here's a reminder of how Lerner's testimony went down last year.
As far as the White House goes, President Obama is no longer saying IRS targeting is outrageous but instead implied to MSNBC's Chris Matthews late last year that the scandal is simply faux outrage coming from conservatives because they're "on a list."
"They’ve got a list, and suddenly everybody’s outraged."