Roland Burris denies wrongdoing
RECASTS TAPE | Senator says he changed his mind later
URBANA -- Sen. Roland Burris said Wednesday he misspoke and merely was trying to "placate" ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's brother during a secretly recorded conversation in which he pledged to donate to the now-indicted governor before he was appointed senator.
In a series of Downstate stops and in a barrage of national media interviews, Burris sought to tamp down a new round of questions surrounding his appointment after getting caught on an FBI tape talking to Robert Blagojevich, chairman of his brother's campaign fund.
Burris tried Wednesday to repeatedly recast what he said on the damning Nov. 13 recording, in which he ended his conversation with Robert Blagojevich with a promise to make a contribution to the then-governor within about four weeks. Burris said Wednesday he abruptly changed his mind after the conversation.
"My statement was, 'I'll send you my check by December 15th,' " Burris said. "Then, when I hung up the phone, I said, 'I can't even do that.' "
Burris said he made that offer merely to "placate" the governor's brother.
A full transcript of the conversation released by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald's office also showed that Burris offered to donate to Blagojevich's fund "in the name of" his lawyer, Timothy Wright, which is illegal.
Burris called that a slip of the tongue, insisting he should have said that he would be willing to encourage Wright to contribute.
"That was a slip," he said. "I said, 'in the name of.' It should have been, 'by Tim Wright.' "
Asked if he really had been considering circumventing election laws, Burris quickly retorted, "Absolutely not. No, no. Don't get excited. We weren't trying to get around it."
Burris' attempt to recast his conversation appeared to do little to stop questions about whether he deliberately misled the House impeachment panel about the circumstances of his appointment.
Reacting for the first time to the latest bad publicity for his Senate counterpart, Sen. Dick Durbin made clear that Burris is on his own politically as he contemplates a possible run for the seat next year.
"We stuck our neck out for him and said if you do this thing, you'll do it in a proper, professional way, then we can stand behind you being sworn into the Senate," he said. "I just don't think his testimony in Springfield was complete and accurate."
In House testimony and affidavits, Burris has given conflicting accounts about conversations he had with Blagojevich emissaries before the appointment. He never mentioned that he had promised Robert Blagojevich that he would make a personal contribution.
On Wednesday, Burris blamed the members of the impeachment panel for not probing deeply enough: "They didn't ask the question."
State Rep. James Durkin (R-Western Springs), who led the questioning Jan. 8 when Burris testified, said Burris is blaming everyone but himself. "He must have been sleeping through half of the committee hearing," Durkin said.