Let’s point out right off the bat that NTU’s estimate of Lois Lerner’s pension seems to be right on, according to a source cited in Politico’s interview with the former IRS executive: “a source working on the congressional investigation said she’s receiving a $100,000 annual pension.” (NTU estimated $102,600 per year.)
Alright, now that that expensive, bittersweet, victory lap is over, on to Politico Pro’s Rachel Bade’s very interesting interview with Lois Lerner…
The article does miss some things, as many have pointed out. The most significant being Lerner’s odd assertion that she would have to be clairvoyant to delete the notorious “missing emails.”
As Larry O’Connor astutely points out in the Free Beacon:
“The answer to Lerner’s suggestion is pretty simple. ‘Ms. Lerner, there is a letter from Chairman Camp asking you about the tea party group targeting in June of 2011. Your hard drives ‘crashed’ ten days after you received that letter. Why are you pretending you didn’t learn about the targeting until 2013?’”
There are plenty more critiques out there as well, which you’ve probably read by now. However, there is some good information in the piece worth a look.
First of all, it turns out Lerner’s background was pretty fitting for the activities that brought about the scandal.
“She spent 20 years at the FEC before heading to the IRS in 2001.
Her start was rocky at the tax agency, where employees scoffed at her lack of knowledge of tax law and IRS operations. Some gossiped behind her back; one boss dismissed her ideas in meetings, according to former co-workers.”
We have someone with 20 years at the FEC, heading up the Exempt Organizations division, and starting a task force to bring more scrutiny to the groups they oversaw. The FEC being very focused on what can be said during campaigns, and when and how much money can be given, and when.
“She created a new approach to classifying potential problem areas, pulling together a team of 40 specialized agents to research emerging issues or suspect groups by scanning websites and court cases and reviewing tax forms to see whether the subjects merited a full audit.”
Additionally, the infamous “Cincinnati office” was supposedly left without proper training and supervision.
And this had consequences: “Nonprofits went from getting approval in a matter of weeks or months to multiple years.” Politico notes.
The piece points to claims that this was “caution” backfiring. But without real answers, it’s impossible to say; it could easily be intentional foot-dragging as well.
Why was “Cincinnati” freed up to pursue shenanigans with limited oversight (again allegedly)? These super cautious people just let a dog off the leash? That doesn’t sound very cautious…
Yet, Lerner once again claims, “I did nothing wrong.”
Of course, she also “studiously avoided answering fundamental questions about her role in the IRS scandal that could land her in deeper trouble with Congress” according to Bade.
So, you could tell us who did, if it was not you, at least in theory, right? Please?
“By taking the Fifth, Lois put a sign on her back: Kick me,” said Paul Streckfus, editor of the EO Tax Journal. “To the average person, that sounds like, ‘Oh my God, she must be hiding something!’”
Is that so unreasonable an assumption? Would it make more sense to assume someone taking the fifth is hiding nothing?
Lerner may have had a reputation for having a temper, or being harsh: “She had a quick temper and may have intimidated co-workers.”
But “some say” that she was not so bad because she gave out goodies:
“Some say she was a generous boss who inspired loyalty, baking brownies and handing out lottery tickets to managers to raise morale.”
One thing we can agree on, whatever people think of her, Lois Lerner does not deserve all the blame.
She didn’t hire and promote herself, and she was not alone in these efforts that led to improper scrutiny of conservative groups.
Furthermore, despite hard-fought victories for National Taxpayers Union and others that have led to changes, the structure and culture of the IRS remains less than ideal. That, combined with an incomprehensible tax code, creates an environment ripe for abuse. It’s not the first time it has happened, and without further reform, it won’t be the last – even with Lois Lerner gone.
However, one can forgive taxpayers who are under the IRS’ thumb for not caring too much about “humanization.” It’s not like the IRS ever asked a taxpayer who they felt was withholding information whether that taxpayer gave out brownies to coworkers – unless they were investigating whether that should be a taxable benefit.
Now taxpayers want answers and Politico is talking about Lois Lerner saving animals?
That part got a tad transparent…
Exemplified by Lerner’s recounting of a random over-the-top angry letter calling her the ‘worst person ever’: “I just thought, ‘Boy, worse than Jeffrey Dahmer?’”
Really, it’s not like anyone thinks she has body parts in her freezer… Though, perhaps that’s where the IRS is storing its hard drives these days.