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The IRS official who refused to testify this week -- while claiming she had done nothing wrong -- signed letters to Tea Party groups a year ago that asked them to turn over everything from printouts of their Facebook pages to the credentials of speakers who participated in their events.
Reality Check: The connection between IRS management Lois Lerner & Cindy Thomas
Video: Why has Cindy Thomas not been called to testify on IRS corruption?
Fox 19 continues its investigative reporting into the scandal at the IRS office, focusing on the local Cincinnati office and filling in more of its organizational chart. Once again, the focus falles on Cindy Thomas, the highest-ranking official at this office. Thomas was two levels below Lois Lerner, but Fox 19′s sources within the IRS office say that the two worked very closely on policy:
The puzzle seems to be focused rather closely on Lerner, despite the protestations of innocence that may have fatally undermined her Fifth Amendment claim. Assuming Fox 19′s sources are accurate, Lerner has close working ties with the person managing the unit where the abuse took place. She worked closely enough with IRS Commissioner Steve Miller to conduct the absurd question-planting strategy that blew up in the face of the IRS and magnified the scandal. That’s a lot of circumstantial or direct connection to arguably dishonest actions, and possibly more.
Darrell Issa will bring Lerner back to testify, even though she will continue to assert her Fifth Amendment right rather than answer questions. On the other hand, why did Lerner’s attorney allow her to make that opening statement that put her in jeopardy? Perhaps Lerner has more to say, and wanted to send a signal to the committee that it’s time to play Let’s Make a Deal. She may also worry what will happen when Thomas does get called to testify.We’ll see, but at the moment, she’s the connecting thread through all of this.
Local Cincinnati Reporter Digging on IRS Targeting Scandal; Finds Lois Lerner Visited Cincy Office “Far more Often” than Person with more Immediate Oversight – Video Report 5/23/13
THIS is what investigative journalism should be like! The Mainstream Media should take lessons from Cincinnati Fox 19 Reporter Ben Swann. Swann reports in-depth on the Cincinnati IRS Office that Obama Administration Officials have claimed is where just a “couple of rogue staffers” targeted Conservative Groups for added scrutiny. But Swann has found at least seven agents his sources say were involved in the targeting, all under the supervision, he reports, of a woman named “Cindy Thomas.” Interestingly, Thomas has ties to Lois Lerner – the woman who just this week refused to answer questions before Congress, instead pleading the 5th Amendment. In fact, Swann reports that Lerner visited Thomas and the Cincinnati Office “far more often” than the person who was supposed to be the next up the chain from Thomas. Swann wonders when Thomas will be called to testify before Congress about what she knows concerning this scandal.