Lois Lerner, the IRS official at the center of the scandal involving targeting of conservative organizations and tea party groups, has retired, according to the Associated Press.
Lerner first disclosed the improper targeting earlier this year at an American Bar Association conference when she responded to a planted question, which triggered a firestorm over the agency’s actions and its handling of the situation.
In June, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform approved a resolution determining that Lerner had waived her Fifth Amendment protection against self-incrimination after she made opening statements in a May hearing before refusing to answer further questions about the matter.
Lerner had been placed on paid administrative leave in May.
The IRS offered the following statement regarding Lerner’s retirement, according to FOX News Insider:
We can confirm today that Lois Lerner has retired. Under federal privacy rules, the IRS cannot comment further on individual employee matters.Additional general information if needed:Since May, the IRS has taken decisive actions to correct failures in Exempt Organizations management, replacing top leadership throughout the chain of command. In addition, IRS Acting Commissioner Danny Werfel created an Accountability Review Board to fully review information to ensure proper oversight in handling personnel issues.There are established rules in place for government agencies on personnel actions, and the IRS has been following these procedures every step of the way. We have been — and continue to be — committed to doing this process thoroughly and fairly.As Werfel has made clear, the behavior cited in the May TIGTA report was the result of mismanagement and poor judgment. The IRS is making important progress on fixing the underlying management and organizational deficiencies in the EO area identified by TIGTA. Our goal is to restore the public’s faith and trust in the tax system.We have sent nearly 400,000 pages of documents to Congress and facilitated dozens of employee interviews. We look forward to continuing to cooperate with Congress and other investigations.
(Lois Lerner runs from House Hearing after pleading the 5th)
CLICK HERE FOR FULL VERSION OF THIS STORY