A federal judge has ordered the IRS to explain "under oath" how former IRS official Lois Lerner's emails mysteriously disappeared amid a congressional investigation into the Tea Party targeting scandal, Fox News reported. The federal order is the latest fodder released by Republicans in their case against Lerner, who has been accused of processing Tea Party and conservative groups' requests for tax exempt status in an unfair manner before the 2010 and 2012 elections. She has also twice asserted her Fifth Amendment right not to testify before Congress and has been held in contempt of Congress by the House.
The tax agency has been given 30 days by U.S. District Judge Emmet G. Sullivan to file a declaration by an "appropriate official" to address the computer issues with ex-official Lois Lerner. The decision came Thursday as part of a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by conservative watchdog group Judicial Watch, which along with GOP lawmakers on Capitol Hill has questioned how the IRS lost the emails and, in some cases, had no apparent way to retrieve them.
In a letter to senators last month, the IRS acknowledged for the first time that it lost two years' worth of Lerner's emails after her computer crashed in 2011, with the IRS claiming that her computer's hard drive was recycled and presumably destroyed. According to new emails released by House Oversight Republicans Wednesday, Lerner had also warned her colleagues to be careful about "what we say in emails" during an internal discussion last year,
During the court hearing, Sullivan indicated he wanted the portion of the declaration on the computer issues to be wide-ranging, saying "that's about as broad as I can make it." It also emerged at the status hearing that a Treasury Department inspector general probe into the matter is underway.
Meanwhile, a resolution directing the House sergeant at arms to find Lerner and arrest her on charges of contempt of Congress was filed by Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) on Thursday, Huffington Post reported. "Asking the Justice Department to prosecute Lois Lerner for admittedly illegal activity is a joke," Stockman said in a statement. "How much longer will the House allow itself to be mocked? It is up to this House to uphold the rule of law and hold accountable those who illegally targeted American citizens for simply having different ideas than the President."
If the House Republicans vote to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress, which is considered a criminal offense, then the sergeant at arms has the authority to arrest and put her in a D.C. jail, said Stockman, a tea party favorite.
Ways and Means is one of three congressional committees investigating the way the IRS processed applications for tax-exempt status. The Justice Department is also investigating.