Lois Lerner, the head of the exempt organizations division of the IRS during the 2010-2013 period where the IRS was deliberately targeting conservatives (now on administrative leave), has a history of using intimidation tactics against conservatives going back to 1996 when she was head of the Enforcement Division of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and directly involved in the 1996 Illinois U.S. Senate race.
Via Illinois Review:
Soon after the IRS story broke, Al Salvi told Illinois Review that it was IRS official Lois Lerner who represented the FEC in the 1996 Democrat complaint against him. According to Salvi, Lerner was, without question, politically motivated, and went so far as to make him an offer: "Promise me you will never run for office again, and we'll drop this case."
Salvi declined her offer. In fact he ran for Illinois Secretary of State in 1998.
But when he saw Lerner plead the Fifth Amendment before Congress last week, he recognized her. "That's the woman," Salvi said. "And I didn't plead the Fifth like she did."
In 2000, a federal judge dismissed the FEC case against him, clearing Salvi's name and reputation.
Now with the revelations about Lerner, the IRS, and the intriguing connection to Durbin, Salvi shared with Illinois Review his experience with Lois Lerner.
Read the details at Illinois Review.
Related to the IRS issue is the breaking news that the IRS commissioner Douglas Shulman visited the White House at least 157 times during the Obama administration, more recorded visits than even the most trusted members of the president’s Cabinet, leading to speculation that the conservative targeting of Obama's "enemies" was not the work of "lower level" employees as has been claimed, but came directly from the top, the White House.
A couple other IRS related headlines today include "Obama's 'Chicago Way'," and "What's going on between IRS and True the Vote."
Full Wake up America coverage on the IRS scandal can be found here.