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Grassley Requests Update on IRS Investigations

APR. 15, 2015

Grassley Requests Update on IRS Investigations

DATED APR. 15, 2015
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Wednesday, April 15, 2015

 

 

WASHINGTON -- Sen. Chuck Grassley, Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, today asked the Justice Department and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration for an update on the investigation of alleged misconduct by IRS personnel, including Lois Lerner, in connection with their handling of applications for tax-exempt status by certain conservative organizations.

"It's unclear whether all of these cases are open or closed," Grassley said. "The investigative agencies should account for their work. The scandal damaged the public trust in the IRS. Building back any of that trust requires investigation and accountability for any misconduct."

Grassley asked a series of questions about the investigative status of the IRS employees' conduct to Sally Quillian Yates, Acting Deputy Attorney General of the Department of Justice, and J. Russell George, Inspector General, Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.

 

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April 15, 2015

 

 

The Honorable Sally Quillian Yates

 

Acting Deputy Attorney General.

 

U.S. Department of Justice

 

950 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

 

Washington, DC 20530

 

 

The Honorable J. Russell George

 

Inspector General

 

Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration

 

1401 H Street, NW, Suite 469

 

Washington, DC 20005

 

 

Dear Acting Deputy Attorney General Yates and Mr. George:

I am writing in regard to the ongoing criminal investigation into the alleged misconduct by Internal Revenue Service personnel, including Ms. Lois Lerner, in connection with their handling of applications for tax-exempt status by certain conservative organizations. In May of 2013, Attorney General Holder announced that he had ordered the investigation. In January of 2014, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed law-enforcement officials, reported that the FBI did not at that time plan to file any criminal charges as a result of the investigation, but noted that the case was ongoing and would likely remain open for months.1

On November 3, 2014, the Department of Justice filed a sworn declaration by Mr. Nelson D. Hermilla, an official in the Department's Civil Rights Division, in a civil case in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.2 In that declaration, Mr. Hermilla stated that the Justice Department "is currently conducting" the investigation of alleged IRS misconduct, further stating:

 

The investigation is being conducted by career attorneys in the Civil Rights Division and the Public Integrity Section of the Criminal Division, as well as agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration."3

 

In order to evaluate the extent to which your organizations are actively investigating this issue, please provide written answers to the following questions by May 15, 2015:

1. Since January of 2014, who has been assigned to the investigation from each of the offices cited in Mr. Hermilla's declaration?

2. When were they assigned, and by whom?

3. How many hours has each attorney or agent identified above worked on the investigation since being assigned to it? How many hours since January of 2014?

4. Prior to being assigned to this investigation, had any of these assigned attorneys or agents previously had contact with any of the IRS employees or offices under investigation? If so, please provide a detailed explanation of the nature and extent of the prior contacts.

5. Has a litigation hold or other preservation effort been instituted to ensure that all potentially relevant parties preserve all possible evidence, including electronically stored information that could otherwise be damaged or erased absent such preservation efforts? If so, please provide a copy. If not, please explain why not.

If you have any questions about this request, feel free to contact Patrick Davis of my Committee staff at (202) 224-5225. Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

 

 

Charles E. Grassley

 

Chairman

 

Senate Committee on the Judiciary

 

FOOTNOTES

 

 

1 Devlin Barrett, Criminal Charges Not Expected in IRS Probe, THE WALL STREET JOURNAL, Jan. 13, 2014.

2Judicial Watch, Inc. v. U.S. Department of Justice, 1:14-cv-01024 (D.D.C) (BAH), ECF No. 10-1.

3Id. at ¶ 3.

 

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