The Internal Revenue Service says Lois Lerner the IRS agent who famously took the fifth in her testimony before congress this summer and is at the center of the agency’s tea party scandal is retiring.
But Rep. Sander Levin, ranking Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, said an Accountability Review Board set up to investigate the people at the agency involved with the scandal, completed their review and were set to recommend her ouster. The review board, though, found no evidence of political bias, he said.
Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that handles applications for tax-exempt status when she was placed on paid leave in May. While she was in charge, the agency acknowledged that agents improperly targeted tea party groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status from 2010 to 2012.
Lerner first disclosed the targeting at a law conference in May, when she was asked a planted question about IRS treatment of political groups. Less than two weeks later, she refused to answer questions at a congressional hearing, citing her constitutional right not to incriminate herself.
Lerner has been receiving her full salary since being placed on administrative leave and will receive full retirement benefits, which are probably greater than the average American salary, despite her actions. Republicans in Congress have repeatedly called for her to be fired.
