Targeting those who spoke truth to power, Lois Lerner and her lieutenant Holly Paz tried to crush the Tea Party and other limited government groups. Now, these two Obama administration members want to avoid the consequences of their conspiracy to deny Americans their civil rights. If they get their way, we’ll see all the tapes and transcripts of depositions they gave in our class action suit against the IRS sealed forever.
What do you do if you’re a corrupt government official desperate to keep from the public the full breadth of your nefariousness, and perhaps hold onto your six-figure pension? You argue that the victims of your crimes may want to hurt you and your family. As The Washington Times first reported:
“Now Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz say that since the case has been settled, there is no reason for their testimony to ever become public.
“The voluminous record of harassment and physical threats to Mss. Lerner and Paz and their families during the pendency of this litigation provides a compelling reason to seal the materials,” the women’s attorneys said.”
Does it? I suppose trying to rig elections by violating Americans’ free speech will cause some criticism that goes beyond the polite. It is, however, to be expected that once the people find out you are using the IRS to crush your opponents, that some critics will get out of hand. Surely the police can do a sufficient job of protecting Ms. Lerner.
The Trump administration is arguing along with the class action plaintiffs, as well as the Cincinnati Inquirer, for the records to be made public. Lerner had initially blamed local IRS officials in Cincinnati for her misdeeds. The decision on whether to release these items lies with the Judge in the case, Michael R. Barrett. Barrett, a Republican from Cincinnati, has so far agreed to keep these things from the public. That was during the trial, however. Keeping records sealed forever is a different matter entirely. The people, who were and still are paying Ms. Lerner, deserve to know exactly what was done in its name, and the survivors of the attacks have a right to know their full measure.
For more on this story see our LN TV author chat here.
