Thread: Burris rebuffed from U.S. Senate Tuesday

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Burris rebuffed from U.S. Senate Tuesday - USATODAY.com
By John Fritze, USA TODAY
WASHINGTON — Roland Burris, the controversial pick to succeed Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, was allowed into the Capitol Tuesday, but denied the right to claim the seat vacated by Barack Obama.
"I will not be accepted. I will not be seated," Burris told reporters gathered around him in a light rain outside the Capitol. "I will now consult with my attorneys and we'll determine what our next step will be."

His attorney, Timothy Wright, said turning Burris away was "against the law of this land."

Democratic leaders maintain that Burris' appointment by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich is tainted because the governor is under investigation for political corruption, including allegedly trying to sell the senate seat vacated by the president-elect.


The former Illinois attorney general, who was escorted into the Capitol by the Senate sergeant at arms, spent about a half hour in the third floor office of the Secretary of the Senate. But he was refused credentials that would have allowed him to take a seat in the Senate, which was convening at noon.

In his brief remarks afterwards, the 71-year-old Burris introduced himself as "the junior senator from Illinois."

He said he was "not seeking to have any type of confrontation" over the issue, but also said that he was looking at options for taking the seat.

Wright, his attorney, said he planned to file a suit in federal district court to pursue that aim.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday that Burris would not be permitted to take his seat because he "has not been certified by the state of Illinois," a reference to incomplete paperwork that only touches on the dispute.

While Blagojevich has signed formal appointment papers, Jesse White, the Illinois secretary of state, has not, and Senate rules require that signature.

Burris, in turn, has gone to court hoping to win an order for White to sign the necessary paperwork.

"As I read the U.S. Constitution," Burris said on CBS' The Early Show, it says the "governor shall fill a vacancy, and as a former attorney general of my state, I have no knowledge of where a secretary of state has veto power over a governor carrying out his constitutional duties."

Contributing: Douglas Stanglin in McLean, Va., the Associated Press

Originally Posted by min0 lee

She misunderstood the statement "The more you know the better..."