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| Lawmakers call for Burris perjury investigation |
| 2009-02-15 |
| State lawmakers are calling for a criminal investigation into whether U.S. Sen. Roland Burris committed perjury before a state impeachment panel, in the wake of a Sun-Times exclusive story published online today. The development comes after the Chicago Democrat failed to initially disclose under oath to a House panel that he was hit up for campaign cash by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brother. State Rep. James Durkin (R-Western Springs) said Saturday that the Sangamon County state prosecutor's office will be asked to review Burris‚ Jan. 8 sworn testimony before the House panel to determine whether Burris (D-Chicago) perjured himself. "I don't trust anything that comes out of Roland Burris‚ mouth or from his pen," Durkin said. "We had a major league situation facing us. This is a United States senate seat that came under the most clouded of circumstances," Durkin said. "This is supposed to be about the year of reform this is about ethics and about transparency." Durkin questioned why he found out about the additional testimony Friday night from the Sun-Times. "Why were we kept out of the loop? Why were we kept out of the latest filing of Roland Burris?" Word that Burris' account of his appointment has changed yet again came as a surprise to some of his colleagues in the Senate, who were not aware of the affidavit's filing until learning of it from press accounts. It was unclear what response might be triggered by Burris' revisions. An aide to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who initially sought to block Burris from being seated, said the Senate leader intended to take a closer look at Burris' new affidavit. But Reid's office declined to say whether the new revelations would reopen the question of whether Burris should be Illinois' junior senator. "Senator Reid is reviewing the affidavit," Reid spokesman Jim Manley told the Sun-Times Saturday. After Reid's hand was essentially forced by Burris and African-American supporters in Congress, Burris was formally seated in mid-January, leaving the Senate few options in responding to the matter. If criminal charges were ever to surface against Burris, the Senate Ethics Committee could probe his conduct and recommend censure, but outright removal from the Senate would require a two-thirds vote. Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who also had reservations about Burris' appointment, intends to more closely examine Burris' evolving storyline before determining a response, a spokesman said. The No. 2 Senate Democrat left for a trip to Greece, Turkey and Cyprus today and won't return until Friday, his office said. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #4 Durban will have a response when he is told what to think. Interesting question is WHERE IS THE ILLINOIS ATTORNEY GENERAL? Did she enter the witness protection program? or did she find a hidden door in her wardrobe and is vacationing in Narnia? She missed ALL of Blagos's crimes and is nowhere to be seen on this one... and of course the Dems want her to run for Governor. |
| Posted by: Helmuth, Speaking for Thromong2805 2009-02-15 17:23 |
| #3 the idiot defense should work rather well in this case |
| Posted by: mhw 2009-02-15 15:09 |
| #2 Hey his retirement plan wasn't paying off. Now even if found guilty of something his Senate Pension plan will pay him for life. Sort of heads I win, tails you lose! |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-02-15 13:34 |
| #1 Yeah, that "Burris = Mr. Clean" thing sounded like pretty much a stretch for a Chicago politician. |
| Posted by: badanov 2009-02-15 06:55 |