Illinois Gov: Burris Should Resign
"Under the current circumstances, where our state needs a strong voice in Washington on so many different issues, I don't think it's in the public interest or the common good to have a U.S. senator who has to spend an undue amount of time going over and over matters on how he obtained the office," Quinn said at a news conference today.
Burris was appointed to the Senate by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, the man whom Quinn replaced after Blagojevich was impeached and removed from office following corruption charges.
Blagojevich appointed Burris to the seat while still in office but after charges were filed against him. Democrats first vowed not to seat Burris, but they eventually relented amid assurances from Burris that he had not acted improperly.
The revelations prompted calls for a perjury investigation of Burris, since they appear to contradict his testimony before the Blagojevich impeachment committee on January 8th and an affidavit three days prior. They have also led to calls for his resignation from state legislators, two House Democrats, and Chicago pastors.
Burris insists that he has done nothing wrong.
Quinn said he is asking his "good friend" to step down and "put the interest in the people of the Land of Lincoln first and foremost ahead of his own."
Burris should "act as quickly as possible for the best interests of Illinois," he added. "This should not be a matter that takes weeks."
Quinn also said state lawmakers should empower him to appoint a temporary successor and that a special election should be held to fill the seat.
White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs addressed the Burris situation in his press briefing Friday afternoon.
"It might be important for Senator Burris to take some time this weekend to either correct what has been said or begin to come up with an explanation that satisfies," he told reporters.
Sources close to Burris told Politico that "there is no way" the 71-year-old senator will resign. He has been in office for 36 days. If he were to resign or be forced to leave office soon, he would become one of the shortest-serving senators in U.S. history, as NPR notes.
Two-thirds of the Senate membership must vote in favor for a senator to be expelled from the legislative body. The last time that happened it was following the Civil War, when senators were expelled for supporting the rebels.
UPDATE: Late this afternoon, Burris' Interim Chief of Staff, Darrel Thompson, released a statement acknowledging that he was leaving the job early.
"Though my tenure was relatively brief, I enjoyed and valued my time with Senator Burris, his entire staff and his other advisors," he said in a statement. Thompson will return to his role as a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. It is not clear who will replace him.