IRS Official Placed on Leave
BLITZER: All right. This just coming into THE SITUATION ROOM. A new fallout from one of the week's most dramatic moments back in Washington. Let's go right to our chief congressional correspondent Dana Bash up on Capitol Hill. She has details of an IRS official's fate. What are we learning, Dana?</s>DANA BASH, CNN CHIEF CONGRESSIONAL CORRESPONDENT: Well, we've learned. Wolf, that Lois Lerner, who is head of the division that did the targeting of Tea Party groups, has been put on administrative leave. And she's actually already been replaced. But, Wolf, being bounced from her job may be the least of her worries because Congress wanted her to come back and answer the questions she refused to yesterday about the issue that really has really sparked bipartisan outrage.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Do you solemnly swear --</s>BASH (voice-over): It was no surprise that Lois Lerner, a central figure in the IRS scandal, invoked her Fifth Amendment rights.</s>LOIS LERNER, IRS EXEMPT ORGANIZATION DIRECTOR: And not testify or answer any of the questions today.</s>BASH: What did surprise committee Republicans is before saying she would not talk, she did just that. Making a lengthy statement and then professing her innocence.</s>LERNER: I have not done anything wrong. I have not broken any laws. I have not violated any IRS rules or regulations.</s>BASH: Republicans pounced, saying Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights against self-incrimination.</s>REP. TREY GOWDY (R), SOUTH CAROLINA: You don't get to tell your side of the story and not be subjected to cross-examination.</s>REP. DARRELL ISSA (R), CHAIRMAN, OVERSIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: Will you please seek counsel for further guidance on this matter while we wait?</s>LERNER: I will not answer any questions or testify about the subject matter of this committee's meetings.</s>BASH: GOP chairman Darrell Issa eventually dismissed Lerner. Now a day later Issa concluded Lerner did waive her right to not answer questions and he's calling her back. But many experts do not think Issa is on firm, legal footing. Attorney Stan Brand was a top lawyer in Congress, since has represented many clients called to Capitol Hill. (</s>On camera): Do you think Chairman Issa is right that Lois Lerner waived her Fifth Amendment rights?</s>STAN BRAND, FORMER GENERAL COUNSEL TO HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES: No, I don't because I think that a brief prefatory statement of innocence that doesn't evolve into a factual representation is not a waiver. And it's been done before.</s>BASH: For example, former Enron CEO Ken Lay during the height of scandal. But he was more subtle than Lerner about arguing he did nothing wrong.</s>KEN LAY, FORMER ENRON CEO: One of the Fifth Amendment's basic functions is to protect innocent men.</s>BASH: Issa aides argue witnesses who invoke the Fifth Amendment tend not to say much more like when Issa called GSA employee Jeff Neely about lavish GSA conferences and excess government spending.</s>JEFF NEELY, FORMER GSA EXECUTIVE: I respectfully decline to answer based upon my Fifth Amendment constitutional privilege.</s>BASH: The committee's top Democrat argues calling Lerner back is a waste of time.</s>REP. ELIJAH CUMMINGS (D), OVERNIGHT AND GOVERNMENT REFORM COMMITTEE: There's a 99.999 chance that when she comes back in, she's going to say the same thing. It undermines the credibility of our committee, and it undermines the credibility of our investigation.</s>BASH: Now, Wolf, it's unclear when Chairman Issa is going to call her back. But if she comes and refuses to answer questions, what the committee could do is hold her in contempt. They could both dare to do that, they could send this to the full House of Representatives. They could have the same vote and that would be referred to the Justice Department who could actually prosecute her. But the reality is, that could take years and the Justice Department is already involved in its own criminal investigation of this very broad issue, of course, of IRS wrongdoing -- Wolf.</s>BLITZER: All right. We'll watch it with you, together, Dana. Thanks very much. Right at the top of the hour, a mother about to give birth, unable to move, and the nurses who risked their lives during the tornado to keep her safe.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Once I felt the floor start shaking, it feels like an earthquake and I knew we were getting hit directly.