Justice Department chooses not to charge Lois Lerner or any others in IRS scandal

Foxnews.com reports: The Justice Department announced Friday afternoon that it will not bring criminal charges against Lois Lerner or any other IRS official involved in the targeting of Tea Party groups, in a decision Republicans ripped as a "free pass." In a letter to leaders of the House Judiciary Committee, the department said the investigation into the controversy will be closed... Republicans, who themselves have investigated the IRS scandal for years, fumed over Friday's DOJ decision. Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., said the move marks a "low point of accountability" for the Obama administration. "Giving Lois Lerner a free pass only reinforces the idea that government officials are above the law and that there is no consequence for wrongdoing," Issa said in a statement. Some Republicans had called for a special counsel to be assigned to the case, complaining that the investigation was led by a Democratic donor. Among them, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., on Friday warned that "politicization continues to go unchecked by this Administration and a Justice Department charged with pursuing wrongdoing." Mark Meckler, co-founder of Tea Party Patriots and leader of Citizens for Self Governance which is suing the IRS, called the DOJ letter a "whitewash and miscarriage of justice."