IRS Fifth Amendment: Lois Lerner, Director Of IRS Unit That Targeted Conservatives, To Plead Fifth At Hearing

Lois Lerner, the IRS' director of the exempt organizations unit who admitted earlier this month that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted conservative groups throughout their application process, said through her lawyer that she will 'plead the Fifth' and not testify against herself when called before Congress.

Attorney William W. Taylor III wrote Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., the chairman of the committee she will testify before, to petition that Lerner not even appear at the hearing since she plans not to testify anyway. Issa, chairman of the House Oversight & Government Reform Committee, was having none of it. A spokesman for the committee released a statement indicating that a person under Congressional subpoena is still required to present themselves before the committee.

The Fifth Amendment protects Americans against self-incrimination in court, however, an admission from Lerner outside of the courtroom has already been published in numerous press reports. "[Targeting] was absolutely incorrect...That's not how we go about selecting cases for further review...The IRS would like to apologize for that,"Lerner said at the time, according to a May 10 report.

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Prior to the revelation that Lerner will likely invoke the Fifth Amendment, the ranking member on Issa's committee suggested the situation would arise. "She might [plead the Fifth]; she very well may," Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., told reporters, adding: "She should be testifying. I expect her to be there." The proceedings are a rare moment of unity between both ideological camps, as normally, Cummings and Issa are on opposite political sides of any debate.

While the IRS scandal is unfolding, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney has been flooded with questions about that situation, and a few other major incidents involving the Obama administration. As the Daily Caller put it, Carney "declared his own ignorance" about reports of IRS targeting.

After it was discovered that the Department of Justice under Attorney General Eric Holder began investigating Fox News' State Department Correspondent James Rosen in an attempt to find the source of leaked intelligence information from 2009 regarding North Korea, Carney was again bombarded by outraged fellow journalists. Rosen's source in the matter, Stephen Jin-Woo Kim, was indicted under the Espionage Act in 2010 for allegedly disclosing to Rosen "national defense" information about a North Korean bomb test.

On Monday, journalists from all sources and sides began effectively interrogating Carney on Rosen's situation. Carney, a former journalist himself, responded saying that President Barack Obama does not plan to interfere with journalists in their daily work: "[Obama is] a strong defender of the First Amendment and a firm believer in the needs of the press to obtain information." Despite Carney's words, many are still outraged that a journalist would be investigated for "simply doing his job", as Fox's Vice President of News Michael Clemente described.

On television and on Twitter, press figures from all sides and venues voiced their support for Rosen. "I'm sorry, [the DOJ] just went through his emails and his private Gmail, and that's ok, but they haven't charged him with anything so 'let's move on'?" said Kirsten Powers on the FOX News program "Special Report with Bret Baier".

Glenn Greenwald of "The Guardian" responded to the DOJ's investigation of Rosen on Twitter, writing "Accusing James Rosen of committing crimes-for basic reporting-may be the most dangerous thing the Obama DOJ has done yet." Even outspoken liberal commentator Keith Olbermann tweeted a message somewhat to Rosen's defense: "My experience dealing with [Rosen] was unpleasant and contentious. And I fully support him against this unwarranted act by DOJ".