Lois Lerner, the head of the IRS’s tax-exempt division during the agency’s targeting of conservative groups, may have waived her Fifth Amendment rights, meaning she could be recalled to testify before Congress. House oversight-committee chairman Darrell Issa closed today’s hearing by saying that when Lerner opted to give an opening statement she potentially waived her right to remain silent.
Earlier in the hearing, Representative Trey Gowdy argued that Lerner had waived that right when she proclaimed her innocence in the statement, but she was ultimately excused from the committee room.
Lerner also authenticated a document presented by Issa, which may have counted as participating in the testimony. “The precedents are clear that this is not something you can turn on and turn off,” Issa told Politico.
Issa told the committee he will further look into the possibility of a recall, and the hearing will therefore stand in recess and not be adjourned.
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