November 20, 2009 12:15 PM

Roland Burris Admonished by Senate Ethics Panel, but No Punishment

By
Stephanie Condon
Topics
Congress
(CBS/ AP)
Updated at 12:55 p.m. ET.

A Senate ethics panel cleared Sen. Roland Burris (D-Ill.) of any legal wrongdoing, after months of questions swirling around his appointment to the Senate seat President Obama left vacant upon taking office.

The panel, however, strong criticized Burris for providing "incorrect, inconsistent, misleading or incomplete information to the public and the Senate. It calls a number of his actions "inappropriate."

Burris came under fire after Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich -- who was already accused of trying to sell Mr. Obama's former Senate seat -- appointed Burris to the position. Burris was not initially under investigation for any connection to Blagojevich's alleged scheme, but he later admitted he tried to raise money for the governor while seeking the Senate seat.

In a "public letter of qualified admonition (PDF)," the six-person Senate Ethics Committee found that Burris committed no "actionable violations of the law."

Still, the panel wrote in its letter, "Senators must meet a much higher standard of conduct."

The panel told Burris in its letter that it concluded in its investigation that:

• "Your sworn affidavit and sworn testimony before the Illinois House of Representatives were incomplete, inconsistent and misleading."

• "Your shifting explanations about your sworn statements appear less than candid."

• "Your November 13, 2008 phone call with Robert Blagojevich, while not rising to the level of an explicit quid pro quo, was inappropriate."

Burris released a positive statement responding to the panel's conclusions, as well as the investigation by the Sangamon County State's Attorney in Springfield, Illinois, which also cleared him of wrongdoing.

"I am pleased that after numerous investigations, this matter has finally come to a close," Burris said. "I thank the members of the Senate Ethics Committee for their fair and thorough review of this matter, and now look forward to continuing the important work ahead on behalf of the people of Illinois."

Sen. Dick Durbin, Burris' fellow Democratic senator from Illinois, said in a statement that Burris was expected to testify before the Illinois General Assembly "openly, honestly and completely about the nature of his relationship with the former governor, his associates and the circumstances surrounding this appointment" before being seated in the Senate.

"Since then, the accuracy and completeness of his testimony and affidavits have been called into question," Durbin said. "The U.S. Senate Ethics Committee has completed its review into this matter and found that Sen. Burris' actions have brought discredit on him and the Senate. The letter of qualified admonition from the Ethics Committee speaks for itself."

Add a Comment See all 31 Comments
by indictburriscom November 21, 2009 10:49 AM EST
Don't forget to click my "indict" button:

http://www.indictburris.com

or forget to watch my new satirical video!

http://www.indictburris.com/piggybankvideo
Reply to this comment
by dweb823 November 20, 2009 9:49 PM EST
One of those rare areas, where (if both sides can drop the snark) we both agree....namely, that one one of the two words in the phrase "ethics committee" has any real meaning.

House, Senate, State, federal......when a politician's wrong doings are sent to an ethics committee for review, there is virtually no chance anything will happen to them other, than at the worst, a "strong warning," or an "admonition."

This is generally followed by a statement from the politician in question reading something like this: "This matter was thoroughly investigated and there were no findings of wrongdoing."

The only penalty for an errant politician that really means anything is large fines and/or a prison term, and there, it appears, the penalty has a great deal to do with the color of your skin. Cong. William Jefferson just got 13 years for hiding $96,000 in bribe money in his freezer. Ohio Cong. James Trafficant got 7 years for taking bribes from businessmen and kickbacks from staff members. Andrew Fastow used his accounting prowess at Enron to bilk investors out of billions and got something like four years.

Wanna guess which one of those was black?
Reply to this comment
by stillunbanable November 20, 2009 5:09 PM EST
The truth is Illinois wants to avoid any more embarrassment. They just can't keep politicians out of jail.
Reply to this comment
by Johnther November 20, 2009 4:31 PM EST
As some wag once observed of Washington D.C., it's not what's illegal that is the problem, it's what is legal. The so-called Senate Ethics Committee has just proven the point, Burris lied but didn't do anything "illegal".

Well, at least the creep doesn't have to have "impeached" carved into the wall of his already-prepared Mausoleum underneath where he's already carved "U.S. Senator". You have to hate it when that happens.
Reply to this comment
by quapawsix November 20, 2009 4:22 PM EST
I guess they figured he lied good enough so he's in.
Reply to this comment
by quapawsix November 20, 2009 4:16 PM EST
I'll bet my house, my truck, my cowboy hat, and my cat there isn't one person on the board drilling this man that is squeaky clean. You can find dirt on anyone if you dig far enough in to their past.
Reply to this comment
by GTR5 November 20, 2009 3:32 PM EST
Of course no punishment. He's Black.
Reply to this comment
by newyorkmom November 20, 2009 3:13 PM EST
a Senate ethics panel is kind of an oxymoron. crooks deciding if any wrongdoing has occurred...what a joke!
Reply to this comment
by cvenable39 November 20, 2009 3:31 PM EST
Well said!
by sddrepublican November 20, 2009 3:12 PM EST
It seems to me that these senator's that admonished Mr. Burris has two sets of standards. 1)Do as I say not as I do - 2)Don't get caught-If you need advice on how to cheat the American public without them knowing just follow the handbook found in your Senate welcome packet.
Reply to this comment
by nowhiningallowed November 20, 2009 2:40 PM EST
Another corrupt Chicago-based politician who twists and spins and lies and then gets a pandering pass. The Senate is acting cowardly by not sanctioning this guy.
Reply to this comment
by jumkey November 20, 2009 2:57 PM EST
Heh, yeah sure.

Vitter, Craig, Sessions, Grassley, we just ignore corrupt Republicans.
See all 31 Comments
.

Follow Political Hotsheet

Scroll Left
Scroll Right More »
CBS News on Facebook
  • Building You a Better Morning

  • CBS This Morning

    "CBS This Morning," anchored by Charlie Rose, Gayle King and Erica Hill, airs weekdays from 7 to 9 a.m. ET and at the same time in other time zones.
    Learn more...