Senator Cornyn to IRS: Apologize, Former Commissioner Refuses

U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) asked former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman yesterday to apologize for targeting Texans, and he refused. An excerpt of their exchange is below, and the full video can be found at the bottom of this post:

SEN. CORNYN: “Mr. Shulman, I wonder if you have any words of apology for my constituents and others who feel like the public trust has been violated by the IRS?”

MR. SHULMAN: “I’m deeply, deeply saddened by this whole set of events. I’ve read the IG’s report and I very much regret that it happened, and that it happened on my watch.”

SEN. CORNYN: “Is that an apology?”

MR. SHULMAN: “To your constituents? I don’t know the details of your constituents. I don’t know what happened to them. I didn’t look at particular constituent and taxpayer matters. I mean, as a general principal, as the IRS Commissioner, I didn’t touch individual cases and I certainly didn’t touch cases that involved political activity, so if I knew the details of it, I could give you an answer.”

SEN. CORNYN: “So it’s not your responsibility? The buck doesn’t stop with you?”