Republican lawmakers are stunned and upset by the Department of Justice's decision not to reconsider prosecuting former IRS official Lois Lerner years after she was accused of discriminating against conservative groups.
The Washington Examiner reported Friday that Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd sent a letter to congressional Republicans and said President Donald Trump looked at the case and is not interested in pursuing it any further.
"The Department determined that reopening the criminal investigation would not be appropriate based on the available evidence," Boyd wrote to Rep. Kevin Brady, R-Texas, who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee.
Brady fired back in a statement with Rep. Peter Roskam, R-Ill., who chairs the Ways and Means Tax Policy Subcommittee.
"This is a terrible decision," Brady said. "I have the utmost respect for Attorney General Sessions, but I'm troubled by his Department's lack of action to fully respond to our request and deliver accountability."
Said Roskam, "The decision not to prosecute Lois Lerner is a miscarriage of justice. On top of Ms. Lerner's actions against taxpayers — denying tax-exempt status to groups for political gain and failing to protect taxpayer information — the Department's response blatantly ignores our most troubling finding: that Ms. Lerner intentionally misled federal investigators in a flagrant violation of the law. This is unacceptable and Ms. Lerner must be held accountable."
In April, Republicans asked the DOJ to take another look at the Lerner case to determine whether legal action should be pursued. A 2015 federal investigation did not find enough evidence to charge Lerner or any other IRS officials with a crime.