U.S. Rep. Blaine Luetkemeyer (MO-3) issued the following statement after he voted with the majority in the House of Representatives to hold former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner in contempt for failing to cooperate with lawmakers investigating the agency’s targeting of conservative groups:

“Those who are in public service have a duty to the American people to obey the law and Lois Lerner is no different. Her willful abuse of her office to target conservative groups and her subsequent failure to cooperate with the people’s representatives in Congress cannot be tolerated. The American people deserve answers about abuses within the IRS and every one of those individuals guilty of violating the public trust must be held accountable. While this vote involves one individual, I believe there were a series of systematic abuses within the IRS that the House will continue to investigate. This matter is far from over.”

Luetkemeyer has a long history with Lerner. For more than three years, Luetkemeyer was stonewalled by Lerner after he sought information as part of an effort to determine whether the IRS not only targeted conservative groups, but whether it turned a blind eye towards the activities of liberal groups.