Docs: Ahead of 2012 Presidential Election Lois Lerner Begged Supervisor Not to Visit IRS Office

[Valin]

Tipsheet:

Katie Pavlich

Jan 14, 2015

 

New emails obtained by Judicial Watch through a Freedom of Information Act Lawsuit show former IRS official Lois Lerner begged her supervisor not to visit the Cincinnati office or ask specific questions related to Congressional inquiries into whether the agency was improperly targeting conservative groups just ahead of the 2012 presidential election. As a reminder, it wasn't until May 2013 when Lerner admitted inappropriate targeting had occurred and plead the Fifth in front of the House Oversight Committee.

 

“Please don’t ask them about closures, pipelines, wait time for full development cases, or the c4 application letter … can we put this off please?” Lerner sent on April 4, 2012 to her then supervisor Tax Exempt and Government Entities Division Deputy Director Joseph H. Grant shortly after he announced a planned visit to the Cincinnati office. "We just gor an very extensive information request from Imraan [imraan Khakoo, TE/GE official] –sure looks like op review material. I’m especially concerned that information about pipeline is being asked about … Add to that the fact tha cincinnati is smack dab in the middle of the c4 Congressional inqueries and is about to get a request from TIGTA on all of that, this is NOT a good time to be asking them for anything or to be talking to them about issue in their work. Everyone is stressed to the max and at their wits end, so can we put this off please?" (Judicial Watch notes the typos are in the original emails)

 

More from the email exchange:

 

(Snip)

 

Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has vowed to dig deeper into the IRS targeting scandal now that Republicans have subpoena power in the Senate.