Another Right-Wing Phony Scandal Goes Down in Flames....Ahhhhhh!

No Criminal Charges Expected In FBI Investigation Into IRS Scandal

No criminal charges.

That was the expected word from the Federal Bureau of Investigation following a lengthy investigation into the Internal Revenue Service’s tax exempt organization scandal.

There are a lot of words that could be used to describe the tenor of what happened. Incompetent. Flawed. Lazy. Confused. Mismanaged. I’ve heard quite a few – and chances are you’ve uttered a few of those yourself.

But the behavior didn’t rise to the level of what would be considered criminal. That’s the finding – to date – of the investigation.

And that has Representative Darrell Issa (R-CA) hopping mad.

The Chair of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee has been involved in the matter since 2012 when he formally requested a Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) inquiry into allegations of unfair targeting and flagging of tax exempt applications. The scandal came to a head in 2013 when now former Director of the IRS’ Exempt Organizations office, Lois Lerner brought the scandal public during a disastrous appearance at an American Bar Association conference calling it “absolutely incorrect, insensitive, and inappropriate.” Lerner subsequently refused to testify in front of the Rep. Issa’s committee, instead invoking her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination. Calls for the IRS to fire Lerner were unsuccessful (citing employment-related rules). Lerner has since resigned.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kellyph...pected-in-fbi-investigation-into-irs-scandal/

 

You would think a topic such as this would be of intense interest to our Right-wing hacks as much as they have referenced this little "scandal" but once their idiotic talking point has been debunked, they seem to just disappear. Hum?

Their silence is the best comment of all. Tee he he he!

 

I guess you can take solace in this much, huh?

"We're #2, We're #2!!!"

 

Oh, I'm sure that this little revelation will not stop you and your Tea Bagger ilk from repeating the same scandal nonsense and doing your best to associate the Obama Administration with it even though there isn't one shred of proof to your crazy ass narrative.
Never let a good conspiracy theory go eh?
Are you ready to apologize and admit that you were wrong now? That would be the manly thing to do but for some reason, I'm not holding my breath. Hum?

 

Recall Lerner to testify.

 

Who? The FBI?

 

Kinda sounds like that old comedy bit, when a guy is filling out an application:

"You're asking if I've ever been convicted of a crime?"

 

So long, IRS ‘scandal’

01/14/14 09:15 AM—Updated 01/14/14 06:40 PM

By Steve Benen

Last spring, the IRS “scandal” was all the rage. The White House’s detractors and much of the Beltway media was quite certain the story was Watergate, Iran-Contra, Teapot Dome, Abscam, all rolled into one mega-scandal.

And then it all collapsed. The tax agency didn’t single out conservatives for unfair scrutiny; there was no conspiracy; and the news organizations that were obsessed with the story when it looked bad completely lost interest when it looked meaningless. The smoking gun was a water pistol, and the political world moved on past the discredited allegations.

All the while, lingering in the background, was an FBI probe, with federal law enforcement investigating to determine if any laws were broken. Care to guess how that turned out?

F.B.I. investigators do not believe Internal Revenue Service officials committed crimes in the unusually heavy scrutiny of conservative groups that applied for tax-exempt status, a law enforcement official said Monday.​

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Prosecutors for the Justice Department who have been overseeing the case have not made a decision about whether to file charges against the officials – although that would seem unlikely given the F.B.I. investigators’ conclusion, according to the official, speaking anonymously because he could not talk on the record about a continuing investigation.​

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The IRS faux-scandal, which has died with a whimper, is actually in the news quite a bit right now for a couple of reasons. The first is the Republicans preoccupation with comparing President Obama’s handling of the IRS story with Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) handling of his bridge scandal. But as the FBI’s disinterest helps remind us, there is no equivalence here – the Christie administration, as the governor himself now admits, engaged in actual misconduct. The IRS story, on the other hand, is a mirage.

And then there’s House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.).

The far-right congressman will likely have to give up his committee gavel at the end of this year, so whatever witch hunts he intends to pursue while he still has power will have to come quickly.

Issa seems well aware of the ticking clock.

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Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) in 2014 will pursue the IRS scandal, the deadly Benghazi attack and the botched Fast and Furious operation in what will likely be his last year as the House GOP’s chief investigator.​

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By all appearance, Issa is making an awkward transition from a powerful committee chairman into a tragic caricature of himself. Watching him jump up and down, vowing to use his final year as Oversight Committee chairman to beat dead horses, I’m reminded of Mortimer Duke towards the end of “Trading Places,” throwing a tantrum: “Now, you listen to me! I want trading reopened right now. Get those brokers back in here! Turn those machines back on!”

Watching a defeated man in a deep sense of denial is amusing when portrayed by Don Amache. It’s a lot less funny when it’s Darrell Issa.

 

Like I said, I won't be holding my breath. It does take a man after all.

 

These "witch-hunts" cost America tons of $$$. I think it's only fair that the government send republicans the bill. Make the bastards pay-up, and if they refuse? ...seize their bank accounts/assets.


Or, we could just beat the hell out of them...

...figuratively speaking, of course...

...asterisk...(coughs).

 

No. The House Oversight And Government Reform Committee.

 

You mean Darrell Issa? So a proven partisan witch hunter is going to be more impartial than the FBI? Aren't you just an answer looking for a question in that case?
So the FBI isn't a good enough investigative organization when they come up with an answer you disagree with? Got it!

 

I don’t care what the outcome is? I just want to know the truth. Don’t you? If memory serves when testifying before the House Committee she plead the 5th. Apparently from what you have posted she had no grounds to do so. So I just think she ought to come back and tell us what she knows.

 

You do know the difference between an FBI investigation and a partisan witch hunt don't you. I'm sure Lerner cooperated with the FBI because she wasn't going to be vilified by a partisan witch hunter. You don't get to plead the 5th when the FBI asks you questions but neither are they partisan B-holes looking to score political points. I wouldn't have answered Issa's questions either and if you were in the same position and your lawyer advised you that answering questions would likely be turned against you, you'd have dome the same thing. Questions should be asked and I believe that the FBI probably asked every question they could think of. They concluded no crimes were committed.

 

I know you don't plead the 5th when talking to the FBI - because you are not required to tell them anything except your name and address. Ever hear of Miranda?

 

You only get "Miranda-ized" if you're under arrest.

 

Wrong again. "An officer must only read you the Miranda Warning if he or she plans on using your answers as evidence at a trial." http://www.mirandawarning.org/mirandawarningfaq.html

 

But, you don't have to be arrested to be Mirandized...

 

I was with you on what's behind door number 2 until you added.... "figuratively speaking."

"Life sucks, then we're reincarnated." - - Anonymous

 

Yeah, laws suck sometimes.