President-elect Barack Obama's appointed successor was turned away when he appeared at the U.S. Capitol to take his seat. The Secretary of the Senate said his credentials were not in order.
Roland Burris announced the decision to deny him the seat as he stood before a large throng of reporters and cameras in the rain outside the Capitol building.
Speaking just an hour before the convening of the 111th Congress Tuesday, Burris said he was looking at a host of options for getting the seat.
Burris, who introduced himself as the "junior senator from 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 permited 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."
On CBS' The Early Show, Burris, who was selected to take President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat, dismissed his critics, saying his appointment by the scandal-plagued governor, Rod Blagojevich, is valid.
"They're causing the drama, my appointment is legal. Are you saying there is something wrong with me? I'm qualified," Burris, who was the first African-American elected to statewide office and was the former Illinois attorney general, said.
"There's nothing wrong with Roland Burris and there's nothing wrong with the appointment," Burris said.
In his defense, Burris, 71, pointed to Blagojevich's decision Monday to hold an election for a successor to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., Mr. Obama's chief of staff. Burris said it proves the embattled governor still has legal authority to carry out his duties.
"As I read the U.S. Constitution," Burris said, it says the "governor shall fill a vacancy, and as a former attorney general of my state, I have no knowledge of where a secretary of state has veto power over a governor carrying out his constitutional duties."
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said Monday that Burris cannot take his seat because he "has not been certified by the state of Illinois." Additionally, Senate Democrats say Burris' appointment is tainted because of the charges Blagojevich faces.
Burris has threatened to sue Senate Democrats if they do not swear him in as the chamber's only black member.
(Source: CBS / Yahoo News)
http://www.theyeshivaworld.com/article.php?p=28407
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