[EL] FEC background of IRS Director who disclosed the 501(c)(4) targeting

[Scarberry, Mark]

It's curious that Lois Lerner apparently was assistant general counsel at the FEC from 1981-86, and then served as head of the FEC enforcement division. At least that's what J. Christian Adams reports on his "Rule of Law" blog, http://pjmedia.com/jchristianadams/2013/05/13/meet-the-irs-team-in-charge-of-exempt-organization-reviews/.

Here's what I found in a very quick search.

According to a 2000 FEC press release, she was hired in 1981 as an Assistant General Counsel at the FEC, was then appointed in 1986 to head the enforcement division, was (as of 2000) serving as the FEC's Associate General Counsel for Enforcement (which I suppose may be the same thing as "head of the enforcement division"), and had just been designated to be the FEC's Acting General Counsel. See  http://www.fec.gov/press/120100agc.htm.

She moved to the IRS in 2001, per this Oct. 4, 2001 press release from the IRS:

WASHINGTON - Lois G. Lerner has joined the Internal Revenue Service as
Director of Rulings and Agreements for Exempt Organizations, part of the IRS's Tax
Exempt and Government Entities division (TE/GE). Lerner comes to the IRS from the
Federal Election Commission (FEC), where she most recently served as Acting
General Counsel. Before December 2000, she served as Associate General Counsel
for Enforcement at the FEC.
In her new post, Lerner will oversee almost 300 employees in the Washington and
Cincinnati offices of Exempt Organizations. Employees in these offices are responsible for
operating the Exempt Organizations determination letter program, providing guidance and
rulings to the public, and providing technical assistance to IRS agents who conduct
examinations of tax-exempt organizations.
"We are extraordinarily fortunate that Lois agreed to join our team," said Steven T.
Miller, Director of Exempt Organizations. "She brings exactly the kind of decision-making
skills and management expertise we need. I expect her to have an immediate impact on our
determination letter program and to make guidance a priority in the coming year."
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-news/ir-01-95.pdf

I am not suggesting that Ms. Lerner is necessarily responsible for any of the misconduct that has come to light. It is interesting to see that she is certainly no stranger to election law issues.

Mark

Mark S. Scarberry
Professor of Law
Pepperdine Univ. School of Law
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