IRS's Lois Lerner Takes Fifth, Shuns Congress

Pete Marovich/Bloomberg via Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service’s director of the Exempt Organizations who is at the center of the controversy after the agency targeted conservative organizations for gratuitous scrutiny, invoked her fifth amendment right against self incrimination Wednesday at a congressional hearing examining the brooding scandal.

Lerner quietly took her seat at the witness table, standing and raising her right hand as she swore to tell the truth alongside other senior IRS officials testifying at the hearing.  When it became her turn to speak, Lerner read a brief statement into the record, declaring her innocence.

“I have not done anything wrong,” she said. “I have not broken any laws, I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations, and I have not provided false information to this or any other congressional committee.”

Lerner then said that while she “would very much like to answer the committee's questions” her counsel advised her to assert her constitutional right not to testify or answer questions related to the subject matter of this hearing.

“Because I'm asserting my right not to testify, I know that some people will assume that I've done something wrong. I have not,” she reiterated. “One of the basic functions of the Fifth Amendment is to protect innocent individuals, and that is the protection I'm invoking today.”

Maryland Rep. Elijah Cummings, the top Democrat on the committee, entered into the record written answers that Lerner provided for the inspector general’s investigation. Rep. Darrell Issa, the chairman of the committee, said he had not seen the document and asked Lerner to authenticate her answers. The document was passed the Lerner, who put on her glasses to skim through it.

“This appears to be my response,” she said.

“So it's your testimony?” Issa asked. “As far as your recollection, that is your response?”

“That's correct,” Lerner answered.

Republicans on the committee quickly interjected, challenging that Lerner gave up her right to remain silent and should be compelled to answer questions from members.

“She just testified. She just waived her Fifth Amendment right to privilege,” Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., a former federal prosecutor, said. “You don't get to tell your side of the story and then not be subjected to cross-examination. That's not the way it works. She waived her right to Fifth Amendment privilege by issuing and opening statement. She ought to stand here and answer our questions.”

Members of the public watching in the committee room applauded enthusiastically.

Issa continued to quiz Lerner, who then declined to answer any further questions.

“Is it possible that we could narrow the scope of questions and that there are some areas that you would be able to answer any questions on here today?” Issa asked.

“I will not answer any questions or testify today,” she responded.

Issa followed up: “Ms. Lerner, would you be willing to answer questions specifically related to the earlier statements made under oath before this committee?”

“I decline to answer that question for the reasons I've already given,” she deadpanned.

Issa then dismissed Lerner from the hearing, and she quickly left the committee room.

When reporters caught up to Lerner in a back hallway as she made her way to her vehicle, she was guarded by a handful of U.S. Capitol Police officers and her legal team, and she ignored questions from the press about her decision to take the fifth.

The frustration over her silence was shared on both sides of the aisle. During the hearing, Rep. Steven Lynch warned Lerner that her silence could compel Congress to appoint a special prosecutor to conduct an investigation.

“If this committee is prevented, by obstruction or by refusal to answer, the questions that we need to get to the bottom of this, you will leave us no alternative but to ask for the appointment of a special prosecutor or appointment to special counsel to get to the bottom of this,” Lynch, D-Mass., warned. “I hope that's not the approach of the IRS going forward because there will be hell to pay if that's the route that we chose to go down.”

While the IG’s report found that the scandal was not the result of political motivations, Issa, R-Calif., criticized the IRS.

“We knew then that something seemed to be wrong. We knew then that there was smoke. We knew then that, in fact, something just didn't seem to be right,” he said. “Many people believe that the IRS is an independent agency. Nothing could be further from the truth.”

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Reid to Bring Immigration Bill Before Full Senate in June

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call(WASHINGTON) -- After the Senate Judiciary passed the Gang of Eight’s immigration legislation Tuesday night out of the committee, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid promised to bring the bill before the full Senate in June.

“I will bring this bill, which is a strong, bipartisan bill, to the floor in June, sometimes soon after we've returned from the Memorial Day work period,” Reid, D-Nev., said on the Senate floor Wednesday morning.

The Gang of Eight’s bill underwent a painstaking 24-day process through the Senate Judiciary Committee during which over 120 amendments were considered. The bill passed out of committee by a 13-5 vote late Tuesday night.

Reid said with the vote the bill has momentum heading into its next hurdle, getting through the full Senate.

“Although neither Republicans nor Democrats will support each and every aspect of this legislation, it's gratifying to see the momentum behind these reforms,” Reid said, “that's how we move legislation forward, for the greater good. Compromise.”

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Eric Garcetti Elected as Next Mayor of Los Angeles

Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images(LOS ANGELES) -- Eric Garcetti has won the bid to become the next mayor of Los Angeles.

The 42-year-old city councilman beat City Controller Wendy Greuel in an election on Tuesday.  Results posted on the Los Angeles City Clerk’s website show that Garcetti defeated Greuel 54 percent to 46 percent.

"Thank you Los Angeles -- the hard work begins but I am honored to lead this city for the next four years. Let's make this a great city again," Garcetti tweeted early Wednesday morning.

He will replace Antonio Villaraigosa as mayor when he takes office on July 1.  Garcetti will be the city's first Jewish mayor and its youngest one.

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Anthony Weiner Announces He's Running for NYC Mayor in Ad

Alex Wong/Getty Images(NEW YORK) -- Former New York Congressman Anthony Weiner has finally declared himself a candidate for New York City mayor.

In an ad posted on YouTube late Tuesday night, the democrat says, "I'm running for mayor because I've been fighting for the middle class and those struggling to make it my entire life."

Weiner adds that he hopes he gets a "second chance to work for you," admitting that he's "made some big mistakes" and "let a lot of people down."

"But I've also learned some tough lessons," he says.

Weiner resigned from Congress in 2011 after he revealed that he sent sexually inappropriate texts and photos to women after first denying that he had.  His wife, Huma Abedin, an aide to Hillary Clinton, stood by his side.

The couple, who has a 1-year-old son together, are both featured in the new ad, titled "Anthony Weiner for Mayor."

"We love this city and no one will work harder to make it better than Anthony," Abedin says in the video.

Weiner wraps up the ad by saying, "I will fight for you every single day.  Thank you for watching."

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Immigration Reform Bill Moves to Full Senate

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- The bipartisan Senate "Gang of Eight" held together despite an onslaught of amendments and some efforts to kill its comprehensive immigration reform bill.

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday night passed the bill 13-5, largely intact, to the full Senate for a vote.

It is the first step in a series of hurdles for immigration reform that includes increased border security, a pathway to citizenship for 11 million undocumented immigrants and reforms to legal immigration designed to streamline the process.

The committee vote was met with cheers of, "Yes, we can," by those in the room.

It took the 18 senators five days for markups and they considered 300 amendments, with many of those that passed doing so in a bipartisan nature. Overall, 48 Republican amendments passed.

"I don't think there has been a markup on such a complex bill that has been this open," Sen Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., said during closing remarks.

The entire mark-up was streamed live via the committee website, with active tweeting by the senators and their staffs upon passage or failure of an amendment.

"I appreciate the work of the Senate Judiciary Committee in taking the bill my colleagues and I introduced in April as a starting point for debate," said Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., a member of the "Gang of Eight." "We have a historic opportunity to end today's de facto amnesty and modernize our immigration system to meet our 21st-century needs. I remain optimistic that the Senate, by improving the bill through an open and deliberative floor debate, will seize this opportunity."

Late in the day, the bill survived perhaps its most serious challenge when the Democratic committee chairman Leahy introduced and then withdrew an amendment that would have granted gay and lesbian couples the same rights as straight married couples to sponsor their foreign-born partners for immigration.

Democrats who supported the notion said they could not vote for the amendment because it would have fractured the fragile, bipartisan coalition that wrote the delicate legislation.

Republicans said they would walk away if the amendment was included, resulting in Leahy vowing to fight the battle another day.

"So, with a heavy heart, and as a result of my conclusion that Republicans will kill this vital legislation if this anti-discrimination amendment is added, I will withhold calling for a vote on it at this time," he said. "But I will continue to fight for equality."

There were few, if any, significant changes made to the original "Gang of Eight" bill.

One major addition was the biometric entry/exit at the 10 U.S. airports with the highest volume of international air travel within two years of the bill's passage.

A deal struck between Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., and Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, Tuesday could triple the annual number of temporary visas for workers in highly skilled fields like engineering and technology, and was enough for Hatch to give the full bill his support to leave committee.

It will now head to the full Senate for more debate and a vote.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated he wouldn't stand in the way of the immigration bill coming to the floor of the Senate after getting out of committee.

"With regard to getting started on the bill, it's my intention, if there is a motion to proceed required, to vote for the motion to proceed so we can get on the bill and see if...we're able to pass a bill that actually moves the ball in the right direction," McConnell said Tuesday at the Ohio Clock stakeout. "I think the 'Gang of Eight' has made a substantial contribution to moving the issue forward. So far, I'm told that the Judiciary Committee has not, in any fundamental way, undone the agreements that were reached by the eight senators. And so I'm hopeful that we'll be able to get a bill that we can pass here in the Senate."

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., Tuesday praised Leahy for doing a "masterful" job of moving through the bill.

President Obama also applauded the movement of the bill to the full Senate and said its principles are "largely consistent with the principles of commonsense reform I have proposed and meets the challenge of fixing our broken immigration system."

"None of the committee members got everything they wanted, and neither did I, but in the end, we all owe it to the American people to get the best possible result over the finish line," Obama said in a written statement. "I encourage the full Senate to bring this bipartisan bill to the floor at the earliest possible opportunity and remain hopeful that the amendment process will lead to further improvements."

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Rep. Tom Cole: Okla. Needs Help, Not a Funding Battle

Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call(OKLAHOMA CITY) -- Republican Rep. Tom Cole, whose district took a direct hit from a powerful tornado on Monday, said the residents of the tornado-ravaged towns in Oklahoma need help, not a political battle over funding in Washington.

“Once a disaster starts, to me that’s the end of a discussion. Now we need to focus on the Americans that are in a difficult spot,” Cole told ABC News in an interview Tuesday. “They don’t need to be watching a big political battle, they need to be sure they’re getting help.”

Cole is one of only two members of Oklahoma’s seven-person congressional delegation who voted in favor of a bill funding disaster aid after Superstorm Sandy, raising questions about whether they would change their stance on emergency funding in light of a tragedy in their own state.

Oklahoma’s Republican Sen. Tom Coburn on Monday reiterated his opposition to funding disaster relief without first identifying corresponding budget cuts, if Congress is forced to allocate additional funds.

Cole said he believes that the $11 billion the Federal Emergency Management Fund has in its disaster relief fund should be enough to cover the rebuilding and relief efforts in Oklahoma. But he added that, like with Sandy, relief should come first.

“You have to remember in Oklahoma, in my district or any place, you’re one tornado away from being Joplin[, Missouri],” Cole said. “I don’t begrudge other people. I know they’re trying to do the right thing.”

But he added that he’s always felt strongly about disaster aid.

“I felt exactly the same way about [Hurricane] Katrina, and we spent as much money on Katrina as we did on Sandy, if not more,” he said.

Cole spoke to ABC News from the ground in Oklahoma, where he said the federal and local response has been “swift and robust.”

“The feds have been terrific. The resources have been there and the response has been excellent,” said Cole, who toured the devastated region along with the other members of the state’s congressional delegation.

Cole’s hometown of Moore, Okla., was nearly destroyed by the mile-wide storm. Cole said he had memories of working as a teenager at one of the local schools that was all but destroyed by the storm.

“Now you can’t think about it without thinking about the horror that happened there,” Cole said. “The school was the safest, calmest building in the immediate area. Everybody made the right choice, they were just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

“There’s not a lot that can stand up to an F4 or an F5 [tornado],” he added.

Cole said that after speaking with President Obama on Monday night he is confident the White House and the Republican-controlled House of Representatives will do what it takes to provide assistance to his constituents.

“A Democratic president and a Republican majority leader…I think they’ll do the right thing and the congressmen will follow their lead,” Cole said.

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Gay Marriage Amendment Withdrawn from Immigration Bill Debate

iStockphoto/Thinktsock(WASHINGTON) -- The Senate “Gang of Eight” immigration reform bill survived perhaps its toughest challenge late in the day, as the Senate Judiciary Committee refused to approve an amendment that would have allowed gays and lesbians to sponsor their partners for immigration in the same way married heterosexual couples would be able to do under the proposed legislation.

The amendment by Judiciary Chairman Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., was introduced and then withdrawn after he saw that his amendment could potentially kill the bill.

Republican members of the bipartisan “Gang of Eight” that co-wrote the immigration bill said they could not countenance the amendment and would walk away from the entire legislation if passed.

Democrats on the committee voiced support for what they saw as equal protection under the law, but said they would vote against the amendment to save the bipartisan compromise that held the immigration reform bill together.

“The result [if Leahy's amendment passes]: no equality [and] no immigration bill. Everyone loses,” said Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y.

“The security and prosperity of our nation is too vital, too rare to let [the bill] fail now,” Schumer said. ”As much as it pains me, I cannot support this amendment if it will bring down the bill.”

Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn., added, “It’s wrong. Discrimination is wrong, but I can’t kill this bill.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

Treasury Secretary Jack Lew Defends Handling of IRS Scandal

Official White House Photo by Pete Souza(WASHINGTON) -- Treasury Secretary Jack Lew called the unfair scrutiny the Internal Revenue Service gave some tea party groups “outrageous methods,” adding that while the “conduct was not politically motivated it was unacceptable and inexcusable.”

“Administering the tax code without any hint of bias is a solemn obligation that must be carried out with the highest of standards,” Lew said in a Senate Banking Committee hearing Tuesday. That was why once he learned of the practice he took steps, including asking for the resignation of acting IRS Commissioner Steven Miller, he said.

Miller was subject to a term limit that would have forced him out of the job in three weeks anyway.

Lew said he has directed incoming Acting Commissioner Daniel Werfel, who begins Wednesday, to “carry out a thorough review,” including “making sure that those who acted inappropriately are held accountable for their actions,” as well as “examining and correcting any failures in the system that allowed this behavior to happen,” and “taking a forward-looking view in determining whether the IRS has systemic problems that need to be addressed.”

Werfel will report back to him within 30 days so he can report back to the president “to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again,” Lew said.

Throughout the mostly respectful, but at times contentious, questioning, Lew denied over and over again any political motivation for the IRS’ behavior.

Lew also said he had no idea that the IRS was planning on revealing the scandal the way it did: by planting a question at an American Bar Association conference.

He said it was the “discretion of the IRS to decide how to manage the matter” and it is the “guiding principle for the Treasury Department in IRS investigations…to not interfere in any way,” but it’s not a strategy he would have supported.

“I wasn’t asked about this,” Lew told the committee. “I would have advised against doing that, but it was a decision for the IRS to make.”

Lew told the committee that he first became aware of the targeting of tea party groups on March 15, when he first met with Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George, who told him there was an audit of 501(c)(4) activity and  “there might be troubling findings,” but he said the inspector general “did not describe them in detail.”

“I then did not learn any more about it until it became public,” Lew said, noting that it was Friday, May 10, when he was attending the G-7 meetings in the United Kingdom. He said he was “outraged” when he found out and did not get a copy of the IG report until Tuesday, May 14, the same day it became public.

Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., was one of the senators most persistent with Lew, asking him what steps he took after his initial meeting with the inspector general when he first learned of the audit.

“The practice at Treasury, quite appropriately, is when you’re notified of an IG investigation, you allow the IG to do their work,” Lew answered. “You don’t get in the way. You make sure that they have access to whatever they need access to to complete their audit. And that is what Treasury was doing. I don’t think he expected me to take any action at that time, because I was awaiting his report, which I received last Tuesday.”

Shelby noted that before Lew became secretary of the treasury he was President Obama’s chief of staff at the White House, beginning that position in January 2012.

“So when this was going on in Cincinnati, you were the chief of staff at the White House,” Shelby said, which Lew replied was correct.

“And you had no knowledge whatsoever of anything amiss dealing with the IRS approval, disapproval, delay or anything of specific groups?” Shelby asked, referring to Lew’s time at the White House. Lew answered again that he was not made aware of the scrutiny until March 15.

“I know that questions had been raised,” Lew said. “The fact is, this audit was a publicly posted audit in October 2012. So the fact that an audit was going on was a matter of public record. I had no specific knowledge.”

Shelby then asked Lew if he believes, as the IRS has said, that the targeting was done solely by the Cincinnati office or if it is “part of a culture at the Obama White House.”

“I’ve read the IG report quite carefully, and I think it’s very important to note that there’s no suggestion of any political interference with the process of making these determinations,” Lew said. “There is unacceptable behavior that happened at the IRS. That has to stop, and it can’t happen again. But there was no suggestion of any political intervention.”

When Shelby pressed again, Lew repeated his assertion.

“I have seen no suggestion of any political involvement at all,” he said. “What I’ve said and what I believe is that it was unacceptable, and whoever is responsible should be held accountable....What I think is that the Cincinnati office exercised very poor judgment and used criteria that are unacceptable. And we’ve made it clear that the IRS has to be beyond any suspicion of bias.”

Although Lew promised reform, he also stressed that he “will not cross that line into the administration of the tax system, because the cure could be worse than the disease.”

“We need to make sure that there’s no political involvement in the administration of the tax system,” Lew said. “And the management of the IRS is very much the responsibility of the Treasury secretary. The administration of the tax system has to be within the IRS and apart from politics.”

When Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., questioned Lew, he blamed the scandal on the “culture” at the White House, saying “the indignation that you showed on the front end, to a degree, is kind of laughable in that, when you have the president of the United States and the vice president and other leading folks in our administration using the type of language to describe the folks that were targeted — demonizing, villainizing — I think it’s — you would expect that bureaucrats at lower levels are going to act in a way that they acted.”

Lew answered that “the president’s reaction to this was exactly the same as mine. It was outrage” and “he has taken no step ever to condone this kind of behavior.”

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., also took exception with Lew not asking the inspector general for more details and said the “IRS has violated the trust of the American people.”

Heller ended his questioning by calling for a special counsel to investigate the scandal.

Committee chairman Sen. Tim Johnson, D-S.D., began the hearing with an offer of condolences to the people of Oklahoma, which was struck Monday by a horrific tornado, saying his “thoughts and prayers are with the families of Moore, Oklahoma, and our colleague here on the committee, Senator Coburn. It is a difficult time as families mourn the loss of loved ones and begin rebuilding their community.”

Lew also expressed his condolences. as did others including Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., who is originally from the state.

“I will hold them all in my prayers,” Warren said. “It’s a terrible catastrophe there.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

IRS Official Lois Lerner to Take the Fifth

Comstock Images/Thinkstock(WASHINGTON) -- Lois Lerner, the top IRS official who is at the center of the controversy for the targeting of tea party and other conservative groups, will refuse to answer questions at a congressional hearing Wednesday and invoke her Fifth Amendment rights, ABC News has learned.

She is set to appear before the House Oversight Committee.  Congressional aides said Tuesday that they received a notice from Lerner’s lawyers that she would not answer their questions because it is now part of a criminal investigation.

“She has not committed any crime or made any misrepresentation, but under the circumstances she has no choice but to take this course,” according to a letter that her lawyer, William Taylor, sent to Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the committee, which was first reported by the Los Angeles Times.

Taylor asked that Lerner be granted a reprieve from appearing before the committee, saying it has “no purpose other than to embarrass or burden her.” A congressional aide told ABC News that she is still expected to appear Wednesday.

Lerner is in charge of overseeing requests for tax-exempt status.

Her testimony is key, members of Congress believe, because she found out in June 2011 that terms like “tea party” and “patriots” were being used to flag tax-exempt requests. The practice stopped, according to an inspector general’s investigation, but she did not alert Congress.

A spokesman for the committee said Lerner remains under subpoena to testify.

“The committee has a constitutional obligation to conduct oversight,” spokesman Ali Ahmad said. “Chairman Issa remains hopeful that she will ultimately decide to testify tomorrow about her knowledge of outrageous IRS targeting of Americans for their political beliefs.”

Copyright 2013 ABC News Radio

IRS ‘Blemish’ Prompts Scorn from Unappeased Senators

Win McNamee/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) -- Douglas Shulman, the former commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, said Tuesday he was “dismayed and saddened” that his agency had improperly targeted conservative groups, but declined to offer a direct apology and dismissed suggestions that he misled Congress.

The testimony from Shulman, who was making his first public appearance since the IRS controversy broke into the open two weeks ago, did not satisfy members of the Senate Finance Committee. He faced more than three hours of stern questioning from Democrats and Republicans, but said “I don’t believe I was aware” when asked why he had not informed Congress about potential problems percolating at the IRS office in Cincinnati.

“I agree that this is an issue that when someone spotted it, they should have brought it up the chain and they didn’t,” Shulman said. “Why they didn’t, I don’t know.”

Shulman, who was first appointed by President George W. Bush, acknowledged that the scandal had placed a “blemish” on the IRS. But he said the task facing the IRS was “very, very, very, very difficult,” given the rapid rise of groups seeking tax-exempt status.

Shulman, whose term ended last year, said he was aware back then that the inspector general overseeing the IRS was reviewing reports of conservative groups’ being targeted. But he said he didn’t know the details and only became aware of them recently, six months after leaving his post.

He said he was not directly involved with approving tax-exempt requests by groups. He said he thought it would be “inappropriate to get involved with cases” because he was a political appointee.

Sen. Max Baucus of Montana, chairman of the committee, ordered a second round of questioning after he said the answers had been unsatisfactory.

“The American people have every right to be outraged,” the Democrat said.

Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, was among the committee members who expressed outrage with Shulman.

“The buck doesn’t stop with you?” asked Cornyn, who repeatedly pressed for an apology.

“I certainly am not personally responsible for creating a list that had inappropriate criteria on it,” Shulman said.

He added, “This happened on my watch. I very much regret that this happened on my watch.”

With a stern tone, Cornyn replied, “I don’t think that qualifies as an apology.”

The senators also repeatedly pressed Steven Miller, the outgoing acting IRS commissioner who was dismissed last week by President Obama, for new details about what officials in Washington were aware of the targeting practices -- and when.

Miller said he assumed responsibility for the unusual nature of how the controversy burst into public view. A question was planted at a May 10 meeting with tax lawyers, a week before the Treasury Department’s inspector general was set to release an investigation accusing the IRS of misconduct in its treatment of tea party and other conservative groups.

“We thought we’d get out an apology,” Miller said. “Obviously, the entire thing was an incredibly bad idea.”

As he did during an appearance before a House committee last week, Miller also apologized “for the mistakes made and the poor service.” He said, “partisanship or the perception of partisanship does not belong in the IRS,” but adding that the decisions were not politically motivated.

“I think foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient,” Miller continued, “not partisan.”

Sen. Orrin Hatch of Utah, the ranking Republican on the committee, pressed the two IRS officials on why they have not corrected their previous testimony to Congress when they denied that tea party and other conservative groups were being singled out for exhaustive reviews. He accused Miller of committing a “lie by omission.”

“Why did you mislead me?” Hatch said.

“I did not lie, sir,” Miller replied.

The inspector general overseeing the IRS, J. Russell George, said he had no reason to believe the conservative groups were targeted because of political bias by IRS agents. But he said his office continued to investigate.

“This matter is not over as far as we are concerned,” George said.

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