Gregory Korte

USA TODAY

House Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa called ranking Democrat Elijah Cummings Thursday night

Apology followed Wednesday incident in which the GOP chairman cut off Democrat%27s microphone

Committee was questioning former IRS official Lois Lerner about the agency%27s scrutiny of Tea Party

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Elijah Cummings says he's accepted an apology from House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa after Issa cut off Cummings' microphone and walked out of a contentious hearing on the Internal Revenue Service on Wednesday.

"This evening, Chairman Issa telephoned me and apologized for his conduct, and I accepted his apology, Cummings said in a statement late Thursday night. Cummings, D-Md., is the top Democrat on the committee.

"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 microphone incident overshadowed the GOP's attempt to investigate the IRS's scrutiny of Tea Party groups by recalling former IRS official Lois Lerner to testify at the committee. Lerner once again invoked her Fifth Amendment rights not to incriminate herself and declined to answer 10 questions Issa posed to her about her role in holding up applications for tax exempt status by political groups.

But when Cummings tried to ask questions of his own -- questions preceded by a lengthy statement, as members of Congress often do -- Issa abruptly ended the hearing and had Cummings' microphone turned off in mid-statement.

Issa, R-Calif., said he should have handled the situation differently. "I could have offered to reopen the hearing and allowed him to make a second statement," Issa told his hometown newspaper, the San Diego Union-Tribune. "As chairman, I should have been much more sensitive to the mood of what was going on, and I take responsibility."

Issa said also said he hoped to work with Cummings on other issues in the future. "Mr. Cummings is a member of Congress who works very hard for his constituents," he said.

Thursday, the House blocked a Democratic attempt to censure Issa for his behavior in a party-line vote.

Issa told reporters Thursday that the committee may vote on a contempt of Congress resolution against Lerner as soon as next week. Committee Republicans maintain she waived her Fifth Amendment rights when she gave a lengthy statement and answered a question at a committee hearing last May.

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