The Internal Revenue Service official responsible for the office that targeted certain organizations seeking tax-exempt status was placed on paid administrative leave Thursday, making her the second senior official to be disciplined in the wake of the scandal.
Lois G. Lerner is the director of the IRS tax-exempt organizations division and was the first agency official to publicly acknowledge that employees inappropriately targeted certain conservative-leaning organizations.
The IRS did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday evening. Lerner’s attorney, William W. Taylor, also did not return requests for comment.
Lerner’s removal comes after acting commissioner Steven T. Miller resigned last week at the request of President Obama. In his place, Obama installed Danny Werfel, a former White House budget official, who will oversee the agency until Sept. 30.
On Thursday, senior lawmakers called on Werfel to remove Lerner to restore public faith in the agency.
Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who lead the Senate Committee on Investigations, wrote in a letter to Werfel that keeping Lerner on the job “would erode public trust and confidence” in the IRS.
Werfel confirmed the move in an e-mail to employees Thursday afternoon, saying that he had selected Ken Corbin, a deputy director from another IRS division, to lead the tax-exempt unit. Werfel said Corbin “is a proven leader during challenging times” and has experience “leading large work groups,” skills that make him “an ideal choice” to lead the unit “through this difficult period.”
The federal government does not track how often career employees like Lerner are placed on paid administrative leave, but cases involving accusations of wrongdoing can stretch for months or even years as the employees continue to collect a paycheck.
Despite her removal, Lerner may still face further congressional scrutiny.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he wants Lerner to come back before his committee to face more questions in the case.
But Issa said he will wait for recommendations from congressional lawyers before making a final decision on whether to call Lois Lerner before the committee again.
Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment in her refusal to testify before the oversight panel Wednesday, but the fact that she gave a lengthy opening statement defending herself and verbally verified the contents of a document prompted some lawmakers to suggest that she had essentially waived her right against self-incrimination.
Issa said Thursday that he is awaiting recommendations from committee lawyers, the nonpartisan House Counsel, other outside legal experts and committee Democrats before proceeding. But he said that he is inclined to agree with GOP colleagues who raised a point of order during the hearing and objected to Issa’s decision to dismiss Lerner.
“This is a big thing that we want to get right,” Issa said Thursday. “We were prepared to accept her asserting her Fifth Amendment rights, but she did these other things, and we just want to have it right.”
Lois G. Lerner is the director of the IRS tax-exempt organizations division and was the first agency official to publicly acknowledge that employees inappropriately targeted certain conservative-leaning organizations.
The IRS did not immediately return requests for comment Thursday evening. Lerner’s attorney, William W. Taylor, also did not return requests for comment.
Lerner’s removal comes after acting commissioner Steven T. Miller resigned last week at the request of President Obama. In his place, Obama installed Danny Werfel, a former White House budget official, who will oversee the agency until Sept. 30.
On Thursday, senior lawmakers called on Werfel to remove Lerner to restore public faith in the agency.
Sens. Carl Levin (D-Mich.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.), who lead the Senate Committee on Investigations, wrote in a letter to Werfel that keeping Lerner on the job “would erode public trust and confidence” in the IRS.
Werfel confirmed the move in an e-mail to employees Thursday afternoon, saying that he had selected Ken Corbin, a deputy director from another IRS division, to lead the tax-exempt unit. Werfel said Corbin “is a proven leader during challenging times” and has experience “leading large work groups,” skills that make him “an ideal choice” to lead the unit “through this difficult period.”
The federal government does not track how often career employees like Lerner are placed on paid administrative leave, but cases involving accusations of wrongdoing can stretch for months or even years as the employees continue to collect a paycheck.
Despite her removal, Lerner may still face further congressional scrutiny.
House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said Thursday that he wants Lerner to come back before his committee to face more questions in the case.
But Issa said he will wait for recommendations from congressional lawyers before making a final decision on whether to call Lois Lerner before the committee again.
Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment in her refusal to testify before the oversight panel Wednesday, but the fact that she gave a lengthy opening statement defending herself and verbally verified the contents of a document prompted some lawmakers to suggest that she had essentially waived her right against self-incrimination.
Issa said Thursday that he is awaiting recommendations from committee lawyers, the nonpartisan House Counsel, other outside legal experts and committee Democrats before proceeding. But he said that he is inclined to agree with GOP colleagues who raised a point of order during the hearing and objected to Issa’s decision to dismiss Lerner.
“This is a big thing that we want to get right,” Issa said Thursday. “We were prepared to accept her asserting her Fifth Amendment rights, but she did these other things, and we just want to have it right.”