Burris denies affidavit contradicts testimony

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February 15, 2009

BY JORDAN WILSON, DAVE McKINNEY, LEWIS LAZARE AND NATASHA KORECKI Staff Reporters

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris defiantly defended himself Sunday against allegations he misled a state impeachment panel while under oath by not disclosing multiple contacts with former Gov. Blagojevich�s inner circle or being approached by the ex-governor�s brother for campaign cash before the appointment.

�Throughout my career, I�ve always conducted myself with honesty and integrity,� Burris said during an emotional press conference about why he quietly filed paperwork to revise his testimony, which the Chicago Sun-Times was the first to report Saturday.

�I responded to all questions that were asked of me by the impeachment committee in the time allotted. At no time did I ever make any inconsistent statements,� Burris said, blaming the impeachment panel for not asking him the right questions and the media for misconstruing the facts.

Since the initial Sun-Times report, lawmakers have called for Burris� resignation and for Sangamon County State�s Attorney John Schmidt, a Republican, to open a perjury investigation focusing on Burris� Jan. 8 testimony before the House Special Investigative Committee.

During that sworn testimony, Burris indicated that former Blagojevich chief of staff and lobbyist Lon Monk was the only member of the ex-governor�s inner circle with whom he had consulted about a possible appointment to the Senate. Prior to that, Burris said he had had no contact with anyone in Blagojevich�s camp about the appointment prior to Dec. 26.

But in the latest account from Burris, submitted in a Feb. 5 letter to the committee�s chairwoman, House Majority Leader Barbara Flynn Currie (D-Chicago), Burris said he had had three conversations with Robert Blagojevich, including a discussion by the governor�s brother and campaign fund chairman to raise money for the ex-governor. Burris also contradicted his earlier accounts by confirming he had discussed his interest in the appointment with former Blagojevich chief of staff John Harris, lobbyist John Wyma, campaign aide Doug Scofield and Blagojevich supporter Ed Smith - in addition to Monk.

House Minority Leader Tom Cross (R-Oswego) and Rep. Jim Durkin (R-Western Springs), the ranking Republican on the impeachment panel, called today for Schmidt to investigate Burris for perjury.

But Schmidt told the Sun-Times he has not received a formal request from anyone to launch a Burris probe but did not rule out the possibility of launching an investigation.

�Should information be forwarded to our office, we�ll review it in the ordinary course of business just like we would any other report,� Schmidt said.