I find it amazing, these people TRAMPLE all over the constitution but when confronted they hide behind it [I plead the 5th]. Should not happen, I hope Issa is right and by giving partial testimony, she gave up her right to plead the 5th................

By Offering Statement Proclaiming Innocence In IRS Scandal, Lois Lerner Lost Right To Invoke 5th Amendment  

 

By Susan Duclos

Lois Lerner,  the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS, attempted to have her cake and eat it too, so to speak, by offering a statement proclaiming her innocence in any wrongdoing, before stating that she was invoking her fifth amendment right.

By doing so, she lost her right to invoke the fifth amendment, according to House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Darrell Issa, who says because of that Lerner will be hauled back to appear before the committee again.

Video of Lerner's statement below:


Via Politico:

Issa dismissed her from the committee room once it became clear she wouldn’t answer questions.

Lerner’s decision to speak at all immediately triggered a dust-up among lawmakers who were confused about whether she gave up her Fifth Amendment protections when she made an opening statement.

Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-S.C.), a former federal prosecutor, said Lerner lost her rights the minute she started proclaiming her innocence, and that lawmakers therefore were entitled to question her. But Ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings of Maryland said hearing rules were not like those of a courtroom.

During the incident, Issa did not flat-out say whether or not Lerner had indeed waived her rights but instead tried to coax her into staying by offering to narrow the scope of questions.

By the afternoon, Issa was taking a harder stand.

“The precedents are clear that this is not something you can turn on and turn off,” he told POLITICO. “She made testimony after she was sworn in, asserted her innocence in a number of areas, even answered questions asserting that a document was true … So she gave partial testimony and then tried to revoke that.”

He said he was not expecting that.

“I understand from her counsel that there was a plan to assert her Fifth Amendment rights,” he continued. “She went ahead and made a statement, so counsel let her effectively under the precedent, waive — so we now have someone who no longer has that ability.”

Had she invoked the fifth amendment from the very start, the legality of it would not be an issue, but by trying to publicly declare her innocence of wrongdoing before the committee, she in effect, started testifying without invoking her fifth amendment rights, then invoked so the committee could not cross-examiner her..

It should be interesting to see what legal experts have to say about this.