All Blog Posts from Political Hotsheet

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."

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Politics Today is CBSNews.com's inside look at the key stories driving the day in Politics, written by CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

**President Obama wraps up G-8 meeting; meets with the Pope; heads to Ghana...

**Congress continues wrangling over health care legislation...

**Senate gears up for Sotomayor hearings...

**Burris to retire; another Ensign bombshell; latest on Palin...

PRESIDENT OBAMA: This morning, President Obama wrapped up the G-8 summit with a press conference before heading to the Vatican to meet with Pope Benedict XVI and then flying to Ghana. More on the press conference here.

Agence France-Press previews the president's first meeting with the Pope: "Barack Obama's meeting with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican on Friday carries more weight than normal for the new US president, the White House said. ... Obama, a committed Christian, will have his first audience with the pope since becoming president shortly after the end of a three-day Group of Eight summit in the Italian town of L'Aquila. He will be accompanied by his wife Michelle.

"After taking office in January, Obama ended his predecessor George W. Bush's restrictions on government funding for embryonic stem cell research and for family planning groups that carry out or facilitate abortions overseas.

"'The fact however is that, given the influence of the Catholic Church globally as well as in the United States, and frankly given the influence of the Catholic Church and Church social teaching on the President himself, he recognises that this is much more than your typical state visit,' said [Deputy National Security Adviser Denis] McDonough. 'I do believe that it's fair to say that the President very much looks forward to this visit.'"

Bloomberg News' Lorraine Woellert, "Democrats Link Pope's 'Economic Justice' Plea With Obama Agenda"

Politics Daily's David Gibson, "Pope Benedict's Meeting with Obama a Setback for Conservative Catholics"

Earlier today, the president and the members of the G-8 met with the Outreach 5 (Egypt, Algeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Libya, Ethiopia). Mr. Obama then met unilaterally with South African President Jacob Zuma.

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Updated 6:47 p.m. ET

Illinois Senator Roland Burris, who was appointed to Barack Obama's Senate seat by impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich amid a cloud of controversy, has announced that he will not seek election to the Senate in 2010, CBS News has confirmed.

Burris will announce his decision tomorrow, sources tell CBS News Capitol Hill producer John Nolen.

Burris decision appears to have been based at least in part on the fact that he has not been able to raise money for an election campaign. As of March 31st, reports CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris, Burris had raised only $845 and had $111,031 in campaign debt, according to FEC reports.

Burris was appointed to Barack Obama's former Senate seat by Blagojevich, who was impeached in part on charges of offering the appointment in exchange for campaign contributions.

Senate Democrats initially opposed the appointment because of the charges against Blagojevich but eventually seated Burris after he made assurances that he had not acted improperly in his discussions with the governor's office.

Senate Democrats were also wary of blocking Burris' appointment because Mr. Obama's ascension to the presidency left the chamber without an African-American member, something Rep. Bobby Rush pointed out repeatedly when Burris was nominated.

In May, the FBI released a taped conversation between Burris and Blagojevich's brother in which Burris discussing raising money for Blagojevich while also asking to be considered for the seat to which he was later appointed.

Burris had initially insisted that he did not have conversations concerning fundraising with the former governor’s office, though his story evolved over time. The FBI revelations prompted an investigation into whether Burris had lied under oath.

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Sen. Ronald Burris was defiant today in answering criticism stemming from the FBI’s release of tape recordings detailing conversations between the senator and the brother of impeached former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

"Please understand, that there was no pay to play in this or any intention of pay to play," Burris said this morning on "The John Williams Show,” as reported by the Chicago Tribune. "And therefore, that should be the end of the story. The transcripts bear that out. There's no conjecture."

“Did I try to buy the seat? Never,” Burris said to reporters outside of his home, according to the Associated Press. “Did I commit perjury? No.”

The transcript released by the FBI shows Burris discussing raising money for Blagojevich while also asking to be considered for the Senate seat to which he was later appointed. Burris initially insisted that he did not have conversations concerning fundraising with the former governor’s office, though his story has since changed.

The conversation between the senator and Rob Blagojevich did not include any specific quid pro quo arrangements, and Burris argued that the tapes exonerate him. During the recorded conversation, Burris is recorded promising to “personally do something” and pressing to be appointed to Barack Obama’s former Senate seat.

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Hear the federal wiretap of Roland Burris' conversation with Robert Blagojevich.

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“Tell Rod to keep me in mind for that seat, would ya?," Burris says at the end of conversation. Earlier, he offers to “give [Blagojevich] a check, myself."

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A roundup of news, schedules, and key stories from CBS News Political Director Steve Chaggaris:

While President Obama is out west today talking climate change and the economy, his historic nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for the Supreme Court is dominating the news. (Click here for full coverage of Sotomayor's nomination.)

Republicans are trying to figure out their opposition to the first Hispanic and third woman to be nominated to the Court. Senate Republicans are being cautious, fully aware of their problems with women and Latino voters in recent elections.

"The GOP's dilemma on Sotomayor is the latest example of the party's internal struggle over how to reinvent itself at a time that its voter base is increasingly dominated by Southern, conservative white men," report the Los Angeles Times' Peter Wallsten and Richard Simon.

"Some moderates have argued that the party must work to recruit more minorities and broaden its ideological foundation. But many leading conservatives have rejected that and see the latest Supreme Court vacancy as a chance to beat the drum on social touchstones such as abortion, gay marriage and affirmative action -- while also revving up their fundraising machineries. ..."

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In an effort to stay in the Senate seat to which he was appointed by former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, U.S. Senator Roland Burris has one thing going for him: Name recognition.

It's practically inconceivable that anyone living in his native Illinois – or any of the other 49 states, for that matter – hasn't heard of the embattled junior senator and his troubles. But Burris’ time in the spotlight, along with his tumultuous tenure in the Senate, may be a short one. In an interview with the Beltway publication The Hill Thursday, Burris indicated that he won't campaign for election to the seat he now holds if he feels he cannot raise enough money. He said he will make his decision in the next few weeks.

“I'm moving into a phase now where I will be talking to people and assessing the opportunities in terms of my ability to raise the funds and stay here," Burris told The Hill.

As The Hill noted, the scandal-plagued senator's fundraising has been anemic. Burris only managed to cobble together $845 in the first quarter of 2009. But Burris said that if he entered the race, he didn't believe that raising money would be a problem.

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Senior Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin suggested over the weekend that race was a factor in Sen. Roland Burris being seated by the U.S. Senate.

"My colleague from Illinois, Congressman Bobby Rush, made strong statements along those lines," Durbin, pictured below, said on WGN-AM 720, according to the Chicago Tribune. "They were painful and hurtful, and it became part of this calculation."

Burris was appointed to his Illinois Senate seat by former Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who made the appointment following his arrest on corruption charges. The Democratic Senate leadership initially vowed not to seat Burris, since he had been appointed by Blagojevich.

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The Chicago Sun Times reports that the son of Senator Roland Burris was hired as a senior counsel for the Illinois Housing Development Authority by then-Governor Rod Blagojevich's administration on September 10, 2008.

At the time, Roland W. Burris II was subject to a $34,163 tax lien and a foreclosure proceeding on his Chicago home, the newspaper reports. The mission of the agency “includes overseeing mortgage programs for low-income home buyers and anti-foreclosure initiatives.”

The revelations about the hiring of Burris' son comes amid calls for the senator to resign from the seat to which he was appointed by former Gov. Blagojevich, who was impeached and removed from office in the wake of corruption charges.

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Sen. Dick Durbin suggested to his fellow Illinois Sen. Roland Burris today that he would resign from the chamber if he was in Burris' shoes.

But in a meeting today, Burris said he would not resign, according to Durbin.

Durbin's comments were made after the two Democrats met privately as Burris faces calls to step down following his admission that he had more involvement with former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich than initially he let on while being considered for an appointment to President Obama’s former Senate seat.

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Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn is calling on Sen. Roland Burris to 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.

Burris has since acknowledged, however, that he had contact with multiple Blagojevich associates about his interest in the seat. He also said he tried to fundraise for the embattled then-governor while being considered.

The revelations prompted calls for a perjury investigation of Burris, since they apparently contradicted his testimony before the Blagojevich impeachment committee. 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.

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