Former IRS official Lois Lerner and her deputy Holly Paz filed a motion seeking to keep sealed in perpetuity their testimony in a case that claimed the IRS targeted the tea party.
Revealing their testimony would "expose them and their families to harassment and a credible risk of violence and physical harm," according to court documents reviewed by Fox News.
"Whenever Mss. Lerner and Paz have been in the media spotlight, they have faced death threats and harassments. Returning Mss. Lerner and Paz to the media spotlight places them at risk, regardless of what they actually said in those depositions," the documents said, according to The Washington Times.
The Justice Department told Fox News Monday that the Lerner and Paz testimonies remain sealed.
The Trump administration settled lawsuits with the tea party and other conservative organizations that said the IRS unfairly targeted them during the Obama administration.
The settlements included payments to plaintiffs and the IRS providing an apology, Fox News reported.
Lerner and Paz blamed Mark Meckler, a tea party leader who called IRS agents "criminal thugs," saying his words led to more threats, according to the Times.
"These words matter. They have created a federal environment where threats and harassment against Mss. Lerner and Paz have flourished," lawyers for Lerner and Paz said.
Meckler told the Times: "For the record, I don't believe she's genuinely scared."
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