Issa, Cummings clash at hearing after ex

DEVELOPING ...

A House hearing on the IRS targeting scandal rapidly broke down into a dramatic and deeply personal argument between a top Democrat and Republican, moments after former IRS official Lois Lerner once again invoked her Fifth Amendment right not to testify.

Lerner, who last year refused to answer questions about her role in singling out Tea Party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status, was called back before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on Wednesday. Though Republicans argue that she waived her Fifth Amendment right not to testify by giving a statement during the last hearing, Lerner continued to invoke that right on Wednesday.

'On the advice of my counsel, I respectfully exercise my Fifth Amendment right and decline to answer that question,' she said in response to several questions.

But ranking Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings, D-Md., got into a heated argument with Chairman Darrell Issa, R-Calif., after Issa tried to adjourn the hearing.

Issa at first stood up and prepared to leave as Cummings said he wanted to ask a 'procedural question.' In seconds, tensions flared.

'Mr. Chairman, you cannot run a committee like this,' Cummings appealed.

Cummings' microphone was then turned off, and then flipped back on again. Issa sat down momentarily, but then abruptly told Lerner she was 'released' and said: 'We're adjourned, close it down.'

Cummings, his microphone again turned off, continued to shout, complaining about the Republicans' 'one-sided investigation.'

'I am a member of the Congress of the United States. I am tired of this,' he shouted.

ORIGINAL STORY ...

A former Internal Revenue Service official who refused to answer questions about the agency's targeting scandal at a hearing last spring has arrived on Capitol Hill for another appearance before a House committee -- but it's unclear whether she will answer questions this time, either.

Lois Lerner headed the IRS division that improperly targeted Tea Party and other conservative groups for extra scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. After publicly disclosing the targeting, Lerner refused to answer questions about it at a congressional hearing, invoking her constitutional right not to incriminate herself.

House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., told 'Fox News Sunday' he expected Lerner to testify at Wednesday's hearing. But a committee spokeswoman said she could only confirm that Lerner was expected to attend the hearing.

Lerner resigned from her post as the agency's director of tax-exempt organizations days after her one-and-only appearance before the committee in which she asserted her Fifth Amendment rights.

Issa and Lerner's attorneys have argued about whether she is now still protected from having to testify under the Fifth Amendment. Emails obtained by Fox News revealed an attorney for Lerner negotiated over whether she would testify.

Last week, Lerner lawyer William Taylor made public a letter in which he told the committee that Lerner would testify on Capitol Hill only if compelled by a federal court or if given immunity for the testimony.

He was responding to a letter from Issa saying, in part, that Lerner's testimony remains 'critical to the committee's investigation.'

An attorney for Lerner did not respond to a request for comment from news3blog.blogspot.com.

news3blog.blogspot.com contributed to this report.