OK, Loretta Lynch: If you're serious, let's look at the IRS

Well, since she’ll probably be around as long as Obama whether we like it or not, let’s see if we can get some use of that. The Republican members of the House Ways and Means Committee last week signed a letter to Attorney General Lynch asking her for some serious action on the IRS abuse scandal. You know, the sort of action you’d expect from a fierce, dogged prosecutor. They didn’t write asking Lynch to open an investigation, because that actually happened two years ago – not that you’d know it. On Eric Holder’s watch, the Justice Department has dragged its feet while Republicans in Congress uncovered extensive corruption through their own committee hearings. Here are some of the things we know:

• We know that the IRS targeted conservative groups for delays of their nonprofit status applications.
• We know that the IRS harassed many of these groups by demanding their speaker lists, member lists, donor lists and other such irrelevant information.
• We know that conservative groups waited as long as two years for a decision on their status.
• We know that several Democrat senators, including Carl Levin and Chuck Schumer, publicly urged the IRS to do this very thing.
• We know that memos were sent by Lois Lerner indicating that the IRS wanted to take an especially close look at conservative groups.
• We know that when asked about this, Ms. Lerner took the Fifth Amendment.

You realize, of course, that the one and only thing the Fifth Amendment does is protect you from having to give testimony that incriminates yourself. It’s a way to avoid committing perjury under oath. If you’re asked a question and an honest answer would incriminate you, you can simply not answer. That’s what Lerner did, and it’s perfectly within her rights – but you and I both know there is only one reason any person does it. So you’d think the Justice Department would have little trouble coming up with evidence to charge someone, since all of this represent obvious violations of these groups’ constitutional rights. But I guess Eric Holder isn’t that fierce or dogged a prosecutor, at least when it comes to crimes committed by Democrats within the Obama Administration against their political opponents. If Loretta Lynch is any of the thing Obama claimed she is when he nominated her, she will not be concerned about the fact that the congressional letter-writers are Republicans, nor will she be concerned with the fact that the apparent wrongdoing was perpetrated by Democrats against citizens who probably vote Republican. That won’t matter because the only thing that matters is the law and the fair, unbiased application of justice. And she’ll get right on this. I for one am looking forward to that.