On April 1, the Department of Justice announced that former director of the Exempt Organizations Division of the IRS, Lois Lerner, would not face contempt charges. These charges came about after Lerner refused to answer questions regarding the allegations that the IRS targeted the tea party in a March 2014 hearing before the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Lerner allegedly withheld emails that were crucial to the case regarding the accusations that right-leaning groups were prohibited from receiving tax-exemption status, among other services provided by her department.

Lerner was at the center of the scandal and despite the mountains of evidence against her and the IRS, Lerner is not getting the appropriate punishment for her actions. The scandal has been going on for over three years and justice has yet to be served. It’s an embarrassment to the United States justice system that the legal process is wrapped so tightly with red tape.

During the March 2014 hearing, Lerner made a brief statement which she affirmed her innocence in the scandal. Despite this, she refused to answer questions from the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform.  Congressman Darrell Issa (R- Calif.) introduced a house resolution in May 2014 that found Lerner in contempt of Congress, and was passed that same day. Two months later, Congressman Steve Stockman (R- Texas) proposed legislation that would have Capitol Police arrest Lerner for this. So I guess it’s safe to say the House is not a big fan of her.

Each year we do our taxes so the IRS doesn’t come knocking on our doors and take away all of our nice things. Once we become working-age, we learn not to lie to Uncle Sam because we get in trouble. But, apparently, being a conservative organization also makes Sammy a bit angry.

We are taught at a young age that actions have consequences. I guess Lerner skipped out on that morality lesson, since she let her department target non-profit organizations that had keywords like “tea party” and “patriot” in their name.

In the U.S., we heavily rely on our justice system to right wrongs and ensure fairness. It seems as though it’s the new trend among government officials to violate the laws that they vow so dearly to create and uphold. Former Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver is facing federal corruption charges and even more recently Rep. Aaron Schock (R- Ill.) allegedly misused public funds. Not to mention the scandal surrounding Sen. Robert Menendez (D- N.J.) regarding his misappropriation of Super PAC money. Nowadays public officials seem to act as though they’re above the law.

What’s borderline humorous about this is that these officials blatantly cross lines and break rules like no one is watching them. Newsflash: the one guarantee about being a public figure in the U.S. is that even if you think people aren’t keeping track of you, the media, independent organizations or other figures are making sure you stay within the lines. It would be nice if officials were able to follow the rules without having to be told, but I guess that’s me being too idealistic.

Lerner and her crew involved with this targeting scandal need to be held accountable for their contemptible actions. It’s downright shameful that it is taking so long to get the truth out of her and the others that were orchestrating the scandal. IRS employees have dropped like flies since the scandal first surfaced, and if that isn’t an indicator that something is going on, I don’t know what is.

Vanessa Salman is a sophomore policy studies major. Her column appears weekly. She can be reached at vksalman@syr.edu and followed on Twitter at @VanessaSalman.

Published on April 7, 2015 at 11:47 pm