Burris, Get Out—Part 3

By Jennifer J. Foster

Published: February 25, 2009

Roland Burris can’t catch a break.

The latest high-profile pol to call for the resignation of Illinois’s junior senator is Illinois’s senior senator, Dick Durbin.

From Fox News:

Durbin said he did not get the answers he hoped from the senator, the subject of an investigation into whether he lied to an Illinois House panel deciding whether to impeach Blagojevich. The latest controversy started when Burris amended his public statements to disclose that the former governor’s brother asked him to raise money for Blagojevich last year. Burris later disclosed that he attempted to raise the money, but was unsuccessful.

“This is a critical element,“ Durbin told reporters Monday, saying repeatedly he was “disappointed” with Burris. “Governor Blagojevich, or former governor, has been charged with trying to sell the Senate seat, so raising money or trying to raise money for him was in fact a very important fact that should have been brought forward and was not.“

For his part, Burris wasn’t talking.

Burris, who has been in office for little more than a month, darted out of the meeting and refused to discuss the details.

“I’m under orders not to speak about this,“ Burris said, noting his lawyers have told him to stop talking publicly about the events preceding his appointment to the seat by ousted Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

Um ... maybe that’s because Burris’s memory has proven to be—what’s the word?—oh yes; unreliable when it comes to details of important conversations with political figures.

Unreliable, spotty, selective ... you pick a word.

In a move that shocked no one, Burris spurned Durbin’s advice.

Despite the building pressure, Burris spokesman Jim O’Connor said the senator is keeping a regular schedule on Tuesday and could even make a speech on D.C. voting rights before a Senate vote on the legislation later in the day.

Voting rights!! I hope he’s fighting for those voting rights. I’d hate for anyone to miss the opportunity to vote this egomaniacal self-aggrandizer out of office.