IRS SCANDAL UPDATE: Taxpayers pay to hire workers’ lawyers in IRS scandal.

A scandal surrounding the Internal Revenue Service’s targeting of conservative groups might soon start hitting taxpayers in the wallet. The Justice Department has hired two law firms here to represent the personal interests of 19 Internal Revenue Service workers in a federal lawsuit filed against the agency and its employees because of this year’s targeting scandal, The Cincinnati Enquirer has learned. The government has contracted with the firms of Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP and Squire Sanders LLP for up to $200 an hour plus expenses.

The federal government often pays for personal representation of its employees, experts say.

Nice perk. Those are two of the fanciest firms in Ohio. I wonder if they’ll have to treat this free representation as income . . . .