By ,
Published December 20, 2015
House Oversight Committee Chairman Rep. Darrell Issa on Thursday defended cutting off Democratic Rep. Elijah Cummings during a heated hearing on the IRS targeting scandal, telling Fox News’ Megyn Kelly his actions were perfectly legal and Cummings threw a “hissy fit.”
Meanwhile, he apparently nevertheless apologized to Cummings for the flare-up.
Issa, R-Calif., acknowledged on “The Kelly File” he could have sat back down and continue to let Cummings speak, but asserted that he did nothing wrong by adjourning the hearing instead.
“You know if I had to do it over again I probably would have sat there for a very long time, let him say a lot of things and then finished, walked away,” Issa said. “But you know what, we’re all human it was a long day and I didn’t break any rules, I did everything according to the rules, he wasn’t denied any due process."
Issa also criticized Cummings for breaking the “decorum” of the House to launch what he thinks was a pre-planned event.
“The fact is I did things according to the rules, I followed a script and then Mr. Cummings decided to have quite a hissy fit,” he said.
Cummings said late Thursday that Issa called him and apologized for his actions and that he had forgiven him.
"This evening, Chairman Issa telephoned me and apologized for his conduct, and I accepted his apology," Cummings said in a statement. "My sincere hope is that as we move forward, we will respect the opinions of all members of the committee, we will proceed in a deliberate and considered manner to obtain the facts, we will refrain from making accusations that have no basis in fact, and we will seek resolution rather than unnecessary conflict."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/rep-issa-on-irs-hearing-i-followed-the-rules-rep-cummings-threw-a-hissy-fit