Lois Lerner took the Fifth while she was in the hot seat in front of an inquisitive House committee. They were looking into irregularities of the IRS in its aggressive treatment of Tea Party groups, and no doubt they would have subjected her to some very severe questioning.
Now some are trying to say she waived her right to take the Fifth. Well, I say let her take it. To subject her to the intrusive and belittling interrogation is exactly what she did to the Tea Party groups. The President wants us to believe she acted on her own. Maybe she did, maybe she didn't. But subjecting her to the same sort of treatment she dished out to the Tea Party applicants is such a harsh measure that no one should have to endure that.
Sure, what she did was despicable. And to inflict that on anyone is abhorrent in a free society. But we do not tolerate eye-for-an-eye retaliation. Cruel and unusual punishment is prohibited. And to subject her to the same treatment is like saying we should waterboard the waterboarders.
So fire her, send her to jail, whatever. But for heaven's sake, don't perform on her the same torture she performed on her victims. That's not who we are.
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