He could have said "I lied, but I had to for national security reasons. I don't apologize. The question was inappropriate and Wyden should apologize for asking."

He could have said "I lied, and I shouldn't have. I apologize." (A resignation would be nice.)

But he's quoted as saying "My response was clearly erroneous – for which I apologize."

To me, this sounds like "I thought I was telling the truth but later learned that my statements were incorrect. I apologize."

Which is itself either 1) an admission of incompetence or 2) an additional lie. #2 is much more likely.

Do you see why I called this "apology" contemptible?