Tuesday was Ronald Machen Jr.’s last day as U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia. He didn’t leave quietly.
Just before he left, Machen announced that one former public official under investigation by his office was off the hook. No, not former D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray, whose 2010 campaign remains the subject of an ongoing inquiry. Machen told congressional lawmakers on Tuesday that prosecutors wouldn’t seek criminal contempt charges against former IRS official Lois Lerner.
Lerner (left) was summoned before Congress to testify about reports that the IRS improperly targeted certain political groups that applied for tax-exempt status. She invoked her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination during hearings in 2013 and 2014 before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.
