As U.S. Sen. Roland Burris prepared today to return to work in Washington, D.C., his attorneys continued to prepare a document they say will show he has not changed his story about how he secured the Senate seat from Gov. Rod Blagojevich.| I'm sure a memo to that effect will suffice ... |
In an interview, attorney Tim Wright said he has been reviewing the senator’s statements – as well as media clippings about those statements—and believes Burris has never been inconsistent. He hopes to be done with the report in a day or so, but said its release will be up to Burris. “It will show he hasn’t changed his story,” Wright said. “This will be a document that will be factually based and I’m confident it will show that it’s been the media that’s changed their story, not the senator.”
| Because Illinois Senators never lie ... |
In addition to calls for resignation from an array of fellow Democrats including Gov. Pat Quinn, Burris is facing a pair of investigations into his evolving explanation of whom he contacted and what he did prior to being appointed by Blagojevich to replace President Barack Obama in the Senate.
Blagojevich was charged Dec. 9 with trying to sell the Senate seat for personal or political profit. Burris on Saturday was interviewed by federal authorities for several hours as part of the Blagojevich probe.
In a series of sworn statements and media comments, Burris has gradually revealed more and more contacts with Blagojevich allies. Last week, speaking largely uninterrupted to reporters, Burris disclosed for the first time he had sought unsuccessfully to raise money for Blagojevich at the same time he was expressing his interest in the Senate seat to a number of the governorÂ’s allies. The disclosure called into question his longstanding assertion there was never any discussion of favors for the governor, who had sole authority to fill the Senate seat Burris coveted.
Burris has denied having any inappropriate conversations about the Senate seat and said last week “we are working on a concise document that will be provided to the public later this week.”
