May 7 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. House of Representatives voted to hold a former Internal Revenue Service official in contempt of Congress for refusing to answer questions about her role in scrutinizing Tea Party groups.

The case of Lois Lerner, the former director of exempt organizations at the tax agency, will be referred to the U.S. attorney in Washington for potential prosecution. The House also is set to vote today on asking Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the IRS.

Lerner told the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee in May 2013 that she had done nothing wrong in the IRS's focus on the limited government Tea Party groups. She then refused to answer questions, invoking her constitutional right against self-incrimination.

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