Judge Threatens to Hold IRS Commissioner in Contempt of Court
This week, in the latest twist in the IRS targeting scandal, U.S. District Court Judge Emmet Sullivan threatened to hold the Commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service and Justice Department attorneys in contempt of court after the IRS failed to produce reports and emails belonging to Lois Lerner. Judge Sullivan originally ordered the IRS to turn over this information on July 1, 2015.
Sullivan stated that the IRS and Justice Department’s excuses for not following his order were “indefensible, ridiculous, and absurd.” At the July 1 status conference, Sullivan ordered for the IRS to produce the nearly 1,800 recovered Lerner emails responsive to Judicial Watch’s Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request. Despite this order, the IRS did not produce any of these documents until July 15. During the hearing on July 29, 2015, Sullivan referenced contempt findings against Justice Department prosecutors in the prosecution of late Senator Ted Stevens. He reminded the Justice Department attorney he had the ability to detain him for contempt, and he “will haul into court the IRS Commissioner to hold him personally into contempt.”
After the hearing, Judge Sullivan issued the following:
At the July 29, 2015 status hearing, the Government agreed that the Court’s July 1, 2015 oral order from the bench was clear and enforceable. Nonetheless, the Government reasoned it inappropriate to file a motion for reconsideration until a written order was issued. As expressed at the hearing, the Government’s reasoning is nonsensical. Officers of the Court who fail to comply with Court orders will be held in contempt. Also, in the event of non-compliance with future Court orders, the Commissioner of the IRS and others shall be directed to show cause as to why they should not be held in contempt of Court. The Court’s July 1, 2015 ruling from the bench stands: (1) the Government shall produce relevant documents every Monday; (2) the Government’s document production shall be accompanied by a status report that indicates (a) whether TIGTA has turned over any new documents to the IRS, (b) if so, the number of documents, and (c) a timeframe for the IRSs production of those documents.
Earlier this week, Judicial Watch released the first batch of newly-recovered emails belonging to Lerner. These documents show that Lerner and other officials (including soon-to-be IRS Commissioner Steve Miller) monitored the handling of tax-exempt applications by Tea Party organizations. These documents also reveal that at least one group received an inquiry from the IRS in order to buy time and keep the organization from contacting Congress.
Visit Judicial Watch for more information.
