.Senate Democrats Plan To Accept Burris
Senate Democrats plan to accept Roland Burris for President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat.
Burris was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the Senate's top two Democrats -- Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and assistant leader Dick Durbin of Illinois -- on Wednesday, a day after his paperwork was rejected at the opening of the 111th Congress.
Senate officials in both parties, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for Senate members, said there is a growing expectation on Capitol Hill that the saga will end with Burris being seated.
Meanwhile at an unrelated news conference, Obama declined to take a position on whether Burris should get the Senate seat.
Obama said the decision on whether to allow Burris to join the Senate is one for the Senate to make. He said he has known Burris for years and would be happy to "work with him" if he ultimately gets seated but that he can't go further than that.
Burris was selected by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in late December, and went to the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, but he was denied access to the Senate floor.
After going to the Capitol Tuesday, Burris, who introduced himself as the "junior Senator from the State of Illinois," told reporters outside the Capitol in Washington: "I presented my credentials to the Secretary of the Senate and was advised that my credentials are not are in order, and I will not be accepted, and will not be seated, and will not be permitted on the floor," Burris said. "Therefore, I am not seeking to have any kind of confrontation. I will consult with my attorneys on what my next step will be."
Burris's attorney, Timothy W. Wright III, said that "our credentials were rejected by the Secretary of the Senate. We were not allowed to be placed in the record books. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath. All of which we think was improperly done and is against the law of this land. We will consider our options and we will certainly let you know what our decisions will be soon thereafter."
Blagojevich shocked Democratic leaders by appointing Burris to finish the final two years of Obama's six-year term in the Senate just three weeks after the governor was arrested on corruption charges in what federal prosecutors said was a scheme to sell or trade Obama's vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder.
Blagojevich denies the accusations and has yet to be indicted. There has been no indication that Burris was involved in the alleged scheme, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Democrats have repeatedly said the issue is Blagojevich, not Burris' qualifications.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Rules Committee, told reporters Tuesday evening that Burris should be seated.
"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America," the California Democrat said. "Mr. Burris is a senior, experienced politician. He has been attorney general, he has been controller, and he is very well-respected. I am hopeful that this will be settled."
CBS2
No doubt you can thank Rush Limbaugh for this appointment
Burris was scheduled to meet Wednesday with the Senate's top two Democrats -- Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada and assistant leader Dick Durbin of Illinois -- on Wednesday, a day after his paperwork was rejected at the opening of the 111th Congress.
Senate officials in both parties, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly for Senate members, said there is a growing expectation on Capitol Hill that the saga will end with Burris being seated.
Meanwhile at an unrelated news conference, Obama declined to take a position on whether Burris should get the Senate seat.
Obama said the decision on whether to allow Burris to join the Senate is one for the Senate to make. He said he has known Burris for years and would be happy to "work with him" if he ultimately gets seated but that he can't go further than that.
Burris was selected by Gov. Rod Blagojevich in late December, and went to the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony on Tuesday, but he was denied access to the Senate floor.
After going to the Capitol Tuesday, Burris, who introduced himself as the "junior Senator from the State of Illinois," told reporters outside the Capitol in Washington: "I presented my credentials to the Secretary of the Senate and was advised that my credentials are not are in order, and I will not be accepted, and will not be seated, and will not be permitted on the floor," Burris said. "Therefore, I am not seeking to have any kind of confrontation. I will consult with my attorneys on what my next step will be."
Burris's attorney, Timothy W. Wright III, said that "our credentials were rejected by the Secretary of the Senate. We were not allowed to be placed in the record books. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath. All of which we think was improperly done and is against the law of this land. We will consider our options and we will certainly let you know what our decisions will be soon thereafter."
Blagojevich shocked Democratic leaders by appointing Burris to finish the final two years of Obama's six-year term in the Senate just three weeks after the governor was arrested on corruption charges in what federal prosecutors said was a scheme to sell or trade Obama's vacated Senate seat to the highest bidder.
Blagojevich denies the accusations and has yet to be indicted. There has been no indication that Burris was involved in the alleged scheme, and he has not been accused of any wrongdoing. Democrats have repeatedly said the issue is Blagojevich, not Burris' qualifications.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, who chairs the Rules Committee, told reporters Tuesday evening that Burris should be seated.
"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America," the California Democrat said. "Mr. Burris is a senior, experienced politician. He has been attorney general, he has been controller, and he is very well-respected. I am hopeful that this will be settled."
CBS2
No doubt you can thank Rush Limbaugh for this appointment
posted by madtom at 11:29 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home