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The Justice Department should consider criminal prosecution of former Internal Revenue Service official Lois Lerner for her role in controversy over the tax agency鈥檚 alleged targeting of tea party groups, a Republican-controlled House committee urged Wednesday.

In a 23-to-14 vote along party lines, the House Ways and Means Committee referred the issue to the Justice Department. Republican lawmakers say Ms. Lerner could potentially be prosecuted for singling out conservative groups for scrutiny, compromising confidential taxpayer information, and misleading investigators.

In a hot-button example, the Republicans alleged that Lerner went on the attack against Crossroads GPS, an influential conservative group founded by political strategist Karl Rove, "while turning a blind eye to similarly-organized liberal groups, like Priorities USA."

听House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp (R) of Michigan released a timeline based on Lerner e-mails. According to the chronology, the IRS leaked Crossroads GPS's pending application for tax-extempt status to the investigative journalism website ProPublica, a step the timeline describes as "a violation of federal law."
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听Mr. Camp's timeline also describes Lerner pressuring subordinates to audit Crossroads GPS and saying in a January 2013 e-mail that all IRS moves regarding Crossroads should be coordinated in Washington rather than in IRS field offices.

The Wednesday vote turns up the heat in a year-old partisan battle.

Republicans paint the actions that occurred under Lerner鈥檚 oversight as a scandal of political partisanship, which the Obama administration has failed to pursue. Democrats say that view blows the tea party controversy out of proportion, and that Republicans鈥� real focus is on scoring political points in an election year.

A separate committee, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, is scheduled to vote Thursday on whether to hold Lerner in contempt of Congress.

She has refused to testify to the committee, citing Fifth Amendment rights. Republicans say she waived those rights against self-incrimination by giving 鈥渁 voluntary opening statement denying any wrongdoing,鈥� before her refusal to answer questions at a 2013 hearing.

The controversy surrounding the IRS centers around the agency鈥檚 role in determining which groups do or don鈥檛 qualify for tax-exempt status.

鈥淟ois Lerner鈥檚 testimony is critical to the Committee鈥檚 investigation,鈥� a new report by the oversight panel states. 鈥淲ithout her testimony, the full extent of the IRS鈥檚 targeting of Tea Party applications cannot be known, and the Committee will be unable to fully complete its work.鈥�

The report says that Lerner, as director of IRS units overseeing exempt organizations, had 鈥渦nique, first-hand knowledge of how, and why, the IRS scrutinized applications for tax-exempt status from certain conservative-aligned groups.鈥�

In general, organizations that are granted tax-exempt status are supposed to shy away from direct involvement in political campaigns. But some groups can be eligible for the exemption听while using sizable chunks of their resources on behalf of political candidates.

Last year, a Treasury inspector general for tax administration investigated questions that Republicans had raised regarding the treatment of tea party groups by the IRS during the 2012 campaign cycle. The report by Inspector General Russell George concluded that the agency unfairly singled out conservative groups with 鈥渢ea party鈥� in their name for special scrutiny of their applications. It also said the groups faced processing delays and unnecessary requests for information.

President Obama called the actions 鈥渋nexcusable.鈥� Lerner and an acting commissioner of the IRS departed, and the agency has pledged new vigilance against politically biased practices.

Many Democrats say the continued investigations by Rep. Darrell Issa (R) of California, chairman of the oversight committee, aren鈥檛 needed.

Rep. Sander Levin (D) of Michigan said this week that the probe has been tinged with partisan politics from its early days. He cited a year-long 鈥渇ailed effort to prove White House involvement, pursuit of an enemies list, or targeting of only conservative groups.鈥�

Mr. Levin said the Justice Department is already 鈥渋nvestigating the entire matter to determine whether there should be criminal charges. The Justice Department has access to all of the same documents as we do. They have the ability to conduct interviews of all involved and to compel testimony.鈥�

To Republicans, Attorney General Eric Holder isn鈥檛 exactly viewed as an impartial arbiter, however.

And a bit of new fuel was added Wednesday when an independent federal watchdog, the Office of Special Counsel, reported on several investigations in which IRS employees were alleged to have engaged in pro-Obama or pro-Democratic political activity while on the job.

One IRS specialist in Kentucky 鈥渨ill serve a 14-day suspension for promoting her partisan political views to a taxpayer she was assisting during the 2012 Presidential election season,鈥� the group鈥檚 report said.

The report also said a IRS employees in the Dallas Taxpayer Assistance Center have been given 鈥渃autionary guidance 鈥� that they cannot wear or display any items advocating for or against a political party, partisan political group, or partisan candidate in the workplace.鈥�