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Getbig Main Boards => Politics and Political Issues Board => Topic started by: Dos Equis on February 14, 2009, 01:06:23 PM
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Does not pass the smell test.
Burris Says Blagojevich Wanted $10,000 Donation Before Senate Appointment
Sen. Burris didn't make the donation but failed to disclose the request under oath before an Illinois House impeachment panel
FOXNews.com
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Rod Blagojevich's brother asked Roland Burris for up to $10,000 in campaign donations before Burris was appointed to the U.S. Senate by then-Gov. Blagojevich of Illinois, a Burris spokesman told FOX News.
Sen. Burris didn't make the donation but failed to disclose the request under oath before an Illinois House impeachment panel.
The Chicago Sun-Times first reported on its Web site Saturday that Burris made the disclosure in a new affidavit sent to the head of the state committee that recommended Blagojevich be removed from office.
According to the newspaper, the affidavit is dated Feb. 5 -- three weeks after Burris was sworn in to fill President Obama's former Senate seat.
Burris says he sent the affidavit to Illinois House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie when he realized his testimony before the committee wasn't complete.
"There were several facts that I was not given the opportunity to make during my testimony," Burris said in a statement provided to FOX News. "I voluntarily submitted an affidavit so everything was transparent."
Burris says he had three conversations with Robert Blagojevich, who led the Friends of Blagojevich campaign fund -- and one of those likely was recorded by the FBI.
Burris said he'd get back to him after the election, the newspaper reported, citing sources with knowledge of the conversations.
In his statement, Burris said he refused to contribute and "made it unequivocally clear ... that it would be inappropriate and pose a major conflict because I was interested in the Senate vacancy."
Robert Blagojevich's lawyer told the newspaper Saturday that his client spoke with Burris about a fund-raiser but that the governor's brother didn't know of Burris' political aspirations.
"He didn't know he was in the running for the U.S. Senate seat," Michael Ettinger told the newspaper.
Illinois Senate Minority Leader Christine Radogno told the newspaper Burris' new statement regarding his contact with Blagojevich's brother represents a "fatal wound" to a potential 2010 re-election bid.
His new account contains "extraordinary detail" Burris should have disclosed to the impeachment panel when he testified and to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., before being seated, Radogno told the newspaper.
"If it turns out this was some sort of attempt to avoid this coming out as part of the appointment process, then he doesn't deserve to be senator," Radogno told the newspaper. "I think the whole thing stinks to high heaven."
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/02/14/report-blagojevich-asked-burris-donation/
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Burris confirms request for Blagojevich donation
By JOHN O'CONNOR, Associated Press Writer John O'connor, Associated Press Writer – Sat Feb 14, 11:46 pm ET
SPRINGFIELD, Ill. – Raising fresh questions about his appointment to Congress, Sen. Roland Burris admitted in a document released Saturday that former Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brother asked him for campaign fundraising help before the governor named Burris as Illinois' junior senator.
The disclosure reflects a major omission from Burris' testimony in January when an Illinois House impeachment committee specifically asked if he had ever spoken to Robert Blagojevich or other aides to the now-deposed governor about the Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama.
State Rep. Jim Durkin, the impeachment committee's ranking Republican, told The Associated Press that he and House Republican Leader Tom Cross will ask Sunday for an outside investigation into whether Burris perjured himself.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada also said he was reviewing the disclosure, the latest twist for Senate Democrats in Washington who only consented to seat Burris on the condition that there were no "pay to play" promises exchanged in the appointment.
Burris said he voluntarily gave the committee a Feb. 4 affidavit disclosing the contact with Robert Blagojevich because "there were several facts that I was not given the opportunity to make during my testimony to the impeachment committee."
The affidavit, released by Burris' office after it was first reported by the Chicago Sun-Times, said Robert Blagojevich called him three times — once in October and twice after the November election — to seek his fundraising assistance.
Robert Blagojevich's attorney said his client believes one of the conversations was recorded by the FBI.
Burris, a Democrat like the former governor, said he told Robert Blagojevich he would not raise money because it would look like he was trying to win favor from the governor for his appointment. But he said he did ask the governor's brother "what was going on with the selection of a successor" to Obama in the Senate and "he said he had heard my name mentioned in the discussions."
It's the second time Burris has changed his story. In an unsolicited affidavit to the impeachment committee on Jan. 6, Burris said he had only one limited conversation with the governor before accepting the Senate appointment.
Then, appearing before the committee Jan. 8, he said he told former Blagojevich aide-turned-lobbyist Lon Monk last summer that he was interested in the post.
The governor appointed Burris, a former state attorney general, to the Senate seat on Dec. 30, three weeks after federal agents arrested Blagojevich on a complaint alleging he had tried to trade the appointment for campaign cash or a high-paying job. The state House impeached Blagojevich and the state Senate removed him from office on Jan. 29.
Reid and Dick Durbin of Illinois, among other Senate Democrats, initially said they would not seat anyone appointed by Blagojevich but eventually relented after accepting Burris' impeachment committee testimony under oath that there were no promises exchanged for his appointment.
A spokesman for Durbin said the senator was overseas and had not seen the affidavit or compared it to the testimony. The White House had no comment.
State House impeachment committee chairwoman Barbara Flynn Currie, a Democrat, said she saw the affidavit earlier this week but did not have time to share it with all committee members until now. She said she was planning committee action but that seeking an outside investigation was premature at this point.
The affidavit discloses for the first time that Burris believes he likely told former Blagojevich advisers Doug Scofield and John Wyma of his interest in the post at a fundraiser in June and later asked about it when he spoke to Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris, who was arrested with Blagojevich on Dec. 9.
Scofield, Wyma and Harris were among the Blagojevich associates Burris was asked about in his Jan. 8 testimony by Durkin.
In response, Burris said he had spoken only to Monk.
"This wasn't a couple of questions that I can understand someone may forget, it goes way beyond that," Durkin said Saturday. "To say that he wasn't given the opportunity to explain himself is a load of B.S."
Durkin said he doesn't trust majority Democrats in the General Assembly to conduct a fair investigation into whether Burris perjured himself. But he said he doesn't know yet who should conduct the inquiry.
A log of Harris' calls released to the AP by the governor's office indicates Burris called Harris four times in November — the last time on Nov. 26, when the log indicates the two spoke. Burris' affidavit says he had called Harris to recommend his nephew for a state job and during the conversation asked about the Senate seat.
A spokeswoman for Burris said he would not make himself available for interviews Saturday.
Robert Blagojevich's lawyer, Michael Ettinger, said his client contacted Burris in October to ask him to host a fundraiser for his brother because Burris had contributed in the past, but Burris said he didn't want to commit before the election. Ettinger said the subject of the Senate seat wasn't raised.
Ettinger said Robert Blagojevich remembers only one other conversation in November from the governor's campaign office, which the FBI had wiretapped at the time. He said his client confirmed Burris' account that he declined the fundraiser because of the potential conflict.
But he also told Ettinger no one on his brother's staff had ever mentioned Burris as being interested in the seat.
A publicist for the former governor released a statement saying Blagojevich "acted ethically and honestly and believes Sen. Burris did too."
In explaining his incomplete testimony, Burris said in the affidavit he recalled mentioning Monk "but was then asked another question and did not mention anyone else."
His lawyer, Timothy Wright III, said in a cover letter Burris answered "truthfully and to the best of his recollection," but that the "fluid nature" of the questioning and a review of the transcript showed Burris that he "was unable to fully respond to several matters."
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Associated Press writers Mike Robinson and Carla K. Johnson in Chicago, and Philip Elliott in Washington contributed to this report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090215/ap_on_re_us/burris_blagojevich_donation
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LOL. Doesn't pass the "laugh test" (as Sen. Orrin Hatch of UT termed it) either.
Par for the course for Illinois politics. Nice to see some things never change.