In a hearing before the Senate Finance Committee on Tuesday, former IRS chief Douglas Shulman refused to apologize for the targeting of conservative groups under his leadership.
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.) directly asked for an apology to his constituents. Shulman refused to take any responsibility. “I don’t know the details of your constituents,” he said. “As a general principle, as IRS commissioner, I didn’t touch individual cases.”
Not surprisingly, Cornyn was visibly upset. He asked the question we’ve all been thinking since the beginning: “The buck doesn’t stop with you?”
Like everybody else talking about this matter, Shulman wouldn’t take any blame. “I certainly am not personally responsible,” he said. “With that said, this happened on my watch and I regret that this happened on my watch.”
Cornyn, clearly annoyed by Shulman’s response, said, “I don’t think that qualifies as an apology.”
On Friday, acting IRS chief Steve Miller also denied that he was responsible.
I’m with Cornyn on this one. If the buck doesn’t stop with Shulman or Miller, where does it stop?
UPDATE:
Shulman refused again to take any responsibility for the matter. Republican ranking member on the committee Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) directly asked Shulman to acknowledge his responsibility, saying “It’s only three words: I am responsible.” And yet again, Shulman passed the buck, saying “I am deeply regretful” but never admitting any culpability.
