House Republicans Say Lerner Wanted Audit of Sen. Grassley

The House Ways and Means Committee released documents Wednesday that Republican lawmakers claim show former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner attempted to initiate an audit of Sen. Charles Grassley, The Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg report.

The allegation stems from a December 2012 email exchange that followed Ms. Lerner’s inadvertent receipt of an invitation intended for Mr. Grassley to a charity event to which she was also invited. Ms. Lerner, who led the IRS office on nonprofit groups, said the host group was apparently offering to pay for the senator’s wife to attend. “Perhaps we should refer to Exam?” she wrote, noting the IRS unit that conducts audits.

Ms. Lerner, who retired from the IRS last year, is the central figure in congressional probes of the tax agency’s alleged targeting of Tea Party groups. Mr. Grassley was one of 12 GOP senators who signed a letter to the IRS in early 2012 raising questions about its treatment of conservative entities. Ways and Means Chairman Rep. Dave Camp said the emails show Ms. Lerner “was using the IRS as a tool for political purposes.”

No audit was performed and Mr. Grassley did not attend the event. The partially redacted correspondence focuses on the propriety of the unidentified nonprofit group’s actions. Ms. Lerner “raised a question whether the organization was complying with the tax laws,” said her attorney, William Taylor III. “She didn’t refer Grassley [for an audit], she referred the organization … That’s it.”