ronald machen , on his last day in office , told house boehner in a seven-page letter that lerner could wrap herself in the u.s. constitution 's fifth amendment , even though she offered a self-serving opening statement before clamming up during a may 22 , 2013 hearing .
lerner has long been in the gop 's crosshairs because she led the irs department tasked with approving nonprofit groups ' applications for tax-exempt status .
beginning in 2010 , the department gave conservative groups with words like ` patriots ' or ` tea party ' in their names extra scrutiny , slow-walking many in limbo for years .