Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Blago scandal keeps rolling, Burris asked to resign Obama's Senate seat


by John Zorabedian, Boston Top News Examiner


Sen. Roland W. Burris D-IL
Senator Roland Burris, the man tapped by impeached former Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois to fill President Obama's vacant seat, has been asked to resign by a member of the Illinois legislature, under suspicion that Burris perjured himself before the impeachment committee.

Burris this weekend filed an affadavit with the Illinois House committee investigating the deposed governor's impeachment which contradicts statements Burris made last month in front of the committee, AP reported Monday.

According to the AP report, Burris never mentioned contacts he had with Blagojevich's brother during testimony in January when an Illinois House impeachment committee specifically asked if he had ever spoken to Robert Blagojevich or other aides to the governor.

"I can't believe anything that comes out of Mr. Burris at this point," state Rep. Jim Durkin said. "I think it would be in the best interest of the state if he resigned because I don't think the state can stand this anymore."

Durkin and House Republican Leader Tom Cross want an investigation of Burris for possible perjury, AP reports.

The 71-year-old Burris has barely had time to set up his Senate website, where a note indicates that the permanent Web site is "currently under construction."

Burris said Sunday that he did not do any favors for Blagojevich, andclaimed he told the governor's brother he would not raise any money for the governor.

"I did not donate one single dollar nor did I raise any money or promise favors of any kind to the governor," Burris said.

The Blagojevich scandal that exploded after Obama's election in November has tarnished the Democratic Party's clean government image, which helped the party to two successive gains in the elections of 2006 and 2008, after years of Republican corruption in Washington.

Update: Over at RedState.com, where it appears conservative bloggers get their marching orders for the day, the latest attack on Barack is that he broke his promise for transparency in government with the stimulus bill because it wasn't posted to a website for five days.

The legislation was posted on WhiteHouse.Gov on Friday afternoon (at 2:05pm EST), but was not passed until that night. So, let’s count the days: Saturday-1. Sunday-2. Monday-3. Signing on Tuesday. That’s three days, not five.

And because Obama didn't sign the bill right away (he was in Chicago this weekend for the first time since his inauguration), that means it wasn't "an emergency." You can see this all coming together like clockwork. "President Obama lied! He broke a promise! Cue the tape!" ("He's no friend of the common man!")

On Tuesday, the president will take his turn at the podium. Obama will sign the stimulus bill into law in Denver, the Mile High city where he accepted the Democratic nomination last August. From the Swamp:

The Denver Post reports that Colorado Gov. Bill Ritter is happy about President Barack Obama returning to Denver, scene of the Democratic National Convention that nominated Obama for the presidency, to sign the $787-billion economic stimulus.

Ritter calls the signing tomorrow "a history-making honor.'' /.../ Which may have something to do with the fact that Colorado expects to see $1.97 billion in stimulus funds this year.

(Photo/RedState.com)

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