Of course: Justice Department will file no charges against Lois Lerner

By Herman Cain —— Bio and Archives October 26, 2015

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I suppose there was no other way this could have ended. The Obama-era Justice Department does not exist to enforce the laws on the books except to the extent that doing so is politically helpful to Democrats, so just as her predecessor Eric Holder would have done, Attorney General Loretta Lynch has declined to bring any charges against Lois Lerner for using her position at the IRS to harass nonprofit conservative groups. Justice’s report acknowledges what no one could possibly deny – that the Lerner’s conduct in her job as director of exempt organizations was marked by mismanagement and poor decisions. But, the report insists, that is not a crime.

I suppose that’s especially the case, at least from the perspective of Democrats, when your poor judgment and mismanagement are largely at the direction of Democrat politicians like Chuck Schumer and Carl Levin, who made it clear in very public statements that they wanted the IRS going after conservative nonprofits. I suppose breaking the law is OK if a Democrat senator said in a media interview that he would like you to do so. Not surprisingly, Republican Congressman Darrell Issa of California – whose committee uncovered much of the wrongdoing that the DOJ probably wished would have simply remained hidden – was fit to be tied. USA Today reports:

“The Justice Department’s decision to close the IRS targeting investigation without a single charge or prosecution is a low point of accountability in an administration that is better known for punishing whistle-blowers than the abuse and misconduct they expose,'' Issa said in a statement Friday. "Giving Lois Lerner a free pass only reinforces the idea that government officials are above the law and that there is no consequence for wrongdoing.”

The same USA Today story also quotes Republican Congressman Bob Goodlatte of Kansas as saying the fix was in a long time ago, and DOJ made no secret of it:

"As far back as last year, unnamed (Justice) officials leaked information to the media suggesting that the department did not plan to file criminal charges over the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups,'' Goodlatte said. “The Department of Justice investigation did conclude that the actions of IRS personnel involved in the scandal was ‘disquieting’ and in that we all agree. However, the American people should be concerned that this kind of politicization continues to go unchecked by this administration and a Justice Department charged with pursuing wrongdoing.''

There is very little accountability that’s possible when the president controls both the agency abusing Americans’ rights and the law-enforcement agency that is supposed to protect those rights – at least when the president is as shameless as Barack Obama in his willingness to politicize both. I thought it was interesting that this announcement came down the same week as Hillary Clinton’s Benghazi testimony, of which many liberals asked, “What’s the point of these hearings?” That is actually a very good question. If the Secretary of State can lie to the American people about a terrorist attack, and when it’s obvious to everyone that she lied, she will still face no consequences . . . and if the IRS can clearly and obvious abuse is power to harass the president’s political opponents, and when it’s obvious they’ve done so, they will face no consequences . . . what is the point of seeking the truth? It’s like one big taunt from the Democrats: We hold all the power and no matter what you find out we’ve done, we’ll make sure we pay no price. So why waste everyone’s time finding out? Let’s consider that: If the Justice Department won’t prosecute lawbreaking because that would be bad for Democrats, and the media won’t make a big deal out of lawbreaking and lying because that would be bad for Democrats, then I guess it falls to the voters to make sure there are consequences for all of the above. What do you say, voters? Are you willing to do that? Because it sure doesn’t seem like anyone else is. This is just sickening! Politics over the truth again. If the misinformed voters elect Hillary as president, it will be more of the same. If y'all let that happen, then I'm tempted to agree with Dan - although I'm far from certain - that we're screwed as a nation. But not yet! Let's prove it's not true.