Sen. Roland Burris: A Liar Or Just A Fool?
This looks real bad, both for Roland Burris and his country.
First a quick recap: Burris gets appointed to the Senate by Rod Blagojevich, a self-made cartoon of political ineptness and alleged corruption. The U.S. Senate won't seat Burris until he testifies under oath that he is unblemished by the Blagojevich stain. Burris does this--under oath--knowing that any disclosure of contacts with the Blagojovich camp could jeopardize the Senate acceptance of his nomination. He submits a sworn affidavit saying "there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives with Governor Blagojevich or any of his representatives" about the Senate seat before he was offered the job. A few days later, in January, he testifies under oath that he did, after all, talk about the job previously with "some friends about his desire to be appointed." He is asked specifically about conversations with Blagojevich aides and associates Doug Scofield, Bob Greenleaf, Lon Monk, John Wyma and John Harris. He says he spoke with Lon Monk, a state lobbyist with ties to Blagojevich. Based on this information, he is accepted into the U.S. Senate.
Last Friday, the Burris story changes again--big time. (To see the new affidavit, click here.) His new story, includes these salient details: As far back as June, at a fundraiser Burris attended for Blagojevich, Burris told two of the governor's aides, Wyma and Scofield, that he was "interested" in the Senate job. He also talked to Blagojevich's brother about the post, not once but three times in October and November, and Burris, as part of the same conversations, discussed raising money for Blagojevich with the brother. (Burris claims he declined, saying it would look bad.) In October he called Blagojevich's chief of staff, John Harris, in an attempt to get his own nephew a state job, and then asked about the Senate appointment. He also called Ed Smith, a "friend and supporter" of Blagojevich's, to ask if he had a chance of getting the Senate job. [UPDATE: On Sunday in a remarkable press conference, Burris claimed he had never been "inconsistent." In his original sworn affidavit, dated Jan. 5, he said he did not have "any contact" with Blagojevich or his representatives "regarding my appointment to the United States Senate" before late December. He says this remains true because there is a difference between contacts about "my appointment" and general discussions about the Senate seat, which he later disclosed.]
Burris, still under oath in a sworn affidavit, now says that he did not bring these facts up during the January testimony because he was "asked another question," and did not have a chance to more fully explain himself. At best, this makes Burris a political fool, because he knowingly allowed his new Senate colleagues to be played for fools by denying them all the information they sought. Uncovering these facts, after all, was the entire purpose of his testimony, and he knew that. Did he think he could get by without bringing them up? Did he not feel the responsibility to clear the air, if not at the hearing, then immediately following the hearing? Did he think no one would notice, or that the information would not eventually come out? (For a full transcript of the original testimony, where Burris now dubiously claims he was denied a chance to fully answer the question, click here.)
The other possibility, that Burris intentionally misled lawmakers or lied under oath, is not one that can be determined from the known facts. But state lawmakers are calling for a criminal investigation, so hopefully this information comes out eventually. In the meantime, Burris's reputation for candor has suffered a serious blow. His statements will, for the foreseeable future, be read with some suspicion, since we now know that what he leaves unsaid, even when under oath, is sometimes far more important that what he chooses to say.
-
1
there was not any contact between myself or any of my representatives...
.
Because contact, after all, implies touching. There was no contact; we only spoke! -
2
How stupid is Burris to not even hint at this during the controversy involving seating him in the Senate and especially during the impeachment trial. Looks like "fools" Reid and Durbin were right after all.
-
3
Michael, though Burris did have improper contact w/ Blago, rhetorically he's against it.
-
4
"This looks real bad, both for Roland Burris and his country."
.
Gentlemen, it seems that the demise of this country has been greatly exaggerated. -
5
I really can't get worked up about this. Everyday some one is looking for something starting right there in Washington. We have enough serious issues on our collective plates and all the breathless reporting on Burris is just so much wind.
-
6
NEWS FLASH!
.
McCain says Obama off to 'bad beginning':
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2009/02/15/stimulus-bill-was-a-bad-beginning-for-obama-says-mccain/
.
I guess Obama just won't listen, will he? -
7
Does this mean that the DJ index is going to shed another 1,000 points on Monday?
-
8
MS: you must be joking? Seriously: someone asked Burris for ten grand and our country is in crisis?????
-
9
I honestly think this country is self destructing more because Obama didn't listen to McCain than because Burris didn't do what Blago's brother axed him to.
.
That is, if yer axin' me... -
10
sevenoaks, the country is in crisis, but it's not because of burris. Burris's evasions make it worse though. The core of the current crisis (under which I would include a couple difficult wars lacking clear timelines of completion, an economic collapse, an unsustainable fiscal future, among other things) is that people don't have much of any faith in leadership, whether they be political or corporate. This sort of Burris stuff makes that worse. That's what i meant by that first sentence. There is a real need to restore credibility in leadership, which is sorely needed right now. The more it erodes, whether in the state legislative hearing rooms or bank boardrooms, or in Washington, the worse off we all are.
-
11
"Burris's evasions make it worse though...There is a real need to restore credibility in leadership, which is sorely needed right now."
.
A sort of guilt by association thing, then? And the only problem with the "difficult wars" was their "completion timelines"?
.
Stay the course, MS! By all means...
.
BTW, I guess this means that the DJ will only drop by what, 300, maybe 335 points on this news, then? -
12
53_3, Remember how excited all the pundits were about McCain's super gracious (according to them) concession speech where he pledged to do everything he could to help Obama succeed? I wasn't impressed at the time and remain unimpressed. He has been even more economically stupid and intransigently nasty since than he was during the campaign.
-
13
MS, the business with Burris was made far worse by the drama created by the inept Harry Reid. There was no question that Blago had the right to appoint whoever he wanted. Burris could be recalled by the people of Illinois or investigated by the Senate, but they shouldn't have created all this blather about the appointment. After all, none of them cared about Ted Stevens.
-
14
ivb:
.
Yes he has. He still seems to be on that kick where everybody in this country should be able to see that if Obama would just listen to him, everything would be all right.
.
McCain is just posturing anyway. His days as a reformer are over, because the moment the other GOPers called him a 'rubber stamp' for Obama, he caved!
.
Some reformer! -
15
"people don't have much of any faith in leadership"
.
The people don't have much faith in Congressional Republicans, are split on Congressional Democratic leadership (on an editorial note, I think they should have less), and have much faith in Barack Obama.
.
The press doesn't have much faith in any leadership (except that associated with John McCain and Matt Drudge, of course).
.
Let's all give thanks that this corruption was caused by a Democratic Senator and not a Republican Senator; if the latter was the cause, John McCain's lapdog wouldn't be permitted to report it. -
16
The core of the current crisis (under which I would include a couple difficult wars lacking clear timelines of completion, an economic collapse, an unsustainable fiscal future, among other things) is that people don't have much of any faith in leadership, whether they be political or corporate.
**
One might argue that the problem is that people had too much faith in leadership, political and corporate, from 2002-2007.
**
More directly on topic, Burris will leave the Senate when dragged out by Claire McCaskill and Jim Webb each holding on to one foot.
**
John McCain is turning himself into a bitter and irrelevent old fool. A bitterer and irrelelventer older foolier fool. -
17
Michael: you chose a bad example. Sure we have crises and a lack of faith in our governing and financial classes. But when you chose to hang that charge on a Burris bundle of dollar bills I was gobsmacked.
Do a piece on illegal wiretapping or no-bid contracts: two issues that strike at our system of accountability.
-
18
and, also too, even less on topic but kinda: Where is there evidence of greater corruption, in Burris/Blago, or Norm Coleman's various instances of petty and not so petty graft, and John Cornyn vowing to do all he can to prop up Coleman's weak case to deny the people of Minnesota, and the country, the representation set up by the Constitution?
-
19
What's interesting about this newest financial megaquake (in MS's learned [diseased] opinion) is that Burris refused and no money changed hands. In other words:
.
As far as the prosecution of Blagojevich or anyone else is concerned, absolutely nothing has changed!
.
Talk about Katrina in a thimble... -
20
"The other possibility, that Burris intentionally misled lawmakers or lied under oath, is not one that can be determined from the known facts."
.
But, MS, what about the unknown knowns?
.
Maybe, MS, you should go back to bed and at least finish sleeping off that hangover before wrting another biting example about the ills of this counrty... -
21
Woops. Now it isn't just McCain, it's the 'GOP Senators':
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/02/15/obama.gop.stimulus/index.html
.
Ahyuh, ahyuh, ahyuh! -
22
Michael Scherer:
.
Thank you so much for responding to commentary.
.
With respect to:
.There is a real need to restore credibility in leadership, which is sorely needed right now. The more it erodes, whether in the state legislative hearing rooms or bank boardrooms, or in Washington, the worse off we all are.
.
Is there really a need to restore credibility in financial, industry or government elites, or is there a need to restore accountability to elite positions --be they boardroom, cloakroom, newsroom, etc.?
.
...and in order to truly answer the previous question, don't you and your colleagues need to ask: "Can the political class solve the problems it caused?" -
23
SZ, perhaps this will help"restore accountability to elite positions?" Perhaps this will help restore credibility to government generally? Via hilzoy:
.
"OPR investigators focused on whether the memo's authors deliberately slanted their legal advice to provide the White House with the conclusions it wanted, according to three former Bush lawyers who asked not to be identified discussing an ongoing probe. One of the lawyers said he was stunned to discover how much material the investigators had gathered, including internal e-mails and multiple drafts that allowed OPR to reconstruct how the memos were crafted. In a departure from the norm, Jarrett also told members of the Senate Judiciary Committee last year he would inform them of his findings and would "consider" releasing a public version. If he does, it could be the most revealing public glimpse yet at how some of the major decisions of Bush-era counterterrorism policy were made."
.
As hilzoy says: "Break out the popcorn." -
24
Stuart, I am not sure there is an available alternative to depending on elite positions, at least in this system, or any system of this size. Nor do I know how to answer your latter question. As a practical matter, some political class will solve the political problems, or they won't be solved. The extent to which the radical change of power in Washington since 2006 has left many of the same problems in is a similarly intractable state only highlights the difficulty of this process.
-
25
Jim @ 2:14, that's a topic that neither TIME'S National Political Correspondent KT nor TIME'S political reporter JNS care to discuss.
MS is the White House correspondent so naturally he has to focus on on the Illinois senator and "naughty" ledes.
- michaelscherer @alangrayson TIME told your story (http://bit.ly/cdG9qb), tho not how you would have told it, here: http://bit.ly/YSRHh - 2 hours ago
- michaelscherer RT @PElliottAP: Obama makes surprise visit to White House briefing room. Tune in. - 4 hours ago
- michaelscherer RT @ryssiebee: 92 magazine covers, 10 years, 2 minutes. http://bit.ly/5d7oCo - 7 hours ago
Most Popular »
- Undercover Boss Is Phony and Manipulative. But Don't Hold That Against It.
- NH Poll: Dems Face A Thumpin'
- NBC: There Was Never a Conan O'Brien
- Paul Ryan Won't Run For Prez In 2012
- Today's Health Care Checkup - GOP Plans Under the Spotlight
- CO Gov Poll: Hickenlooper +4
- Love At First Byte: Your Nerdy Valentine's Day Guide
- Do You Spend Less than $2,000 Annually on Internet, TV, Cell Phone Service, and Video Games?
- In The Spotlight, Paul Ryan Faces A Purity Test
- Barack Obama: Then vs. Now
- Asian Carp Battle: Foreign Fish Threaten Great Lakes
- Is the Bible Fact or Fiction? Archaeology's Discoveries
- Spain's Troubled Economy: Fears Over Euro Zone Outlook
- Kennewick Man, Archaeology Find: Who Discovered America?
- Al-Qaeda, Yemen, Wedding: Unlucky Name, Celebration
- Tea-Party Convention: Lessons on Palin and the Movement
- Venezuela: Chavez Protests at Ball Game Over Electricity
- Jim Frederick, Black Hearts in Iraq's Triangle of Death
- Marja: Operation Moshtarak Tests Obama's Afghan War Plan
- Why China Needs The U.S. -- And Vice Versa
Quotes of the Day »
RSS