The House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is expected on Thursday to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt. If the full House approves the contempt resolution, the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington must decide whether to bring criminal charges—which hasn’t happened since 1983.
Separately, the House Ways and Means Committee met Wednesday and voted to refer Lerner to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution based on evidence that committee members say they uncovered about “IRS abuses.” Such referrals are more routine than contempt proceedings, according to lawyers familiar with the process, but it’s still rare to see criminal prosecutions.
