IRS scandal: House votes to hold Lerner in contempt, calls for special prosecutor

The House of Represenatives voted this evening to hold IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt for her refusal to testify about her role in the agencies targeting for conservative groups.

That won't look good on her résumé.

From the Los Angeles Times:

The House voted Wednesday to hold former IRS official Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress for her refusal to testify about the agency’s targeting of conservative groups.

The 231-187 vote attracted just six of the most politically vulnerable Democrats. It was quickly followed by a 250-168 vote calling on Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. to appoint a special prosecutor to take over the Justice Department's investigation of the Internal Revenue Service scandal.

Both marked the latest attempt by Republicans to focus attention on the controversy that erupted after it was revealed last May that a regional branch office of the IRS had been giving extra scrutiny to applications for tax-exempt status from groups identified with terms such as "tea party" or "patriot."

Last month, a House committee took the rare step of recommending criminal prosecution of Lerner.

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