Durbin: Senate Won't Seat Burris Without Secretary Of State Signature

Senator Dick Durbin said Friday that the Senate will not seat Roland Burris without a signature from Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, putting the future of Gov. Rod Blagojevich's U.S. Senate appointee further in doubt.

Durbin's remarks follow two pivotal events earlier in the day: the impeachment of Blagojevich and a state supreme court ruling which held that the Secretary of State's signature is not required to validate Burris' appointment.

"No further action is required by the Secretary of State or any other official to make the Governor's appointment of Roland Burris to the United States Senate valid under Illinois law," Justice Lloyd A. Karmeier wrote for the court in its unanimous decision.

Senate Democratic leaders cited the absence of the Secretary of State's signature on Burris' appointment as the main reason for turning him away from the Senate earlier this week. The state court ruling held that while a U.S. Senate rule "recommends" the Secretary's signature on an appointment, it is not required to validate it.

The ruling appeared to volley the debate over seating Burris back to Senate leaders in Washington, but Durbin was adamant Friday that the Senate "must insist" on its rule requiring the signature.

Below are statements from Burris and Secretary of State Jesse White on the Illinois Supreme Court Ruling (A pdf of the ruling can be found here):

Roland Burris:

Today the Illinois Supreme Court ruled that the Secretary of State's signature is not needed to validate my appointment to the U. S. Senate by the Governor. I am very happy that the Supreme Court ruled supporting our argument that everything surrounding this appointment was legal and complete. This appointment meets the qualifications required by the U.S. Senate of all Gubernatorial appointees to fill vacated seats.

After addressing the Illinois House Special Investigative Committee yesterday affirming that there was nothing questionable surrounding my appointment by the Governor, I am confident I have cooperated with all the requests of the U. S. Senate and I expect they will validate my credentials and seat me in a timely manner. I am humbled by all the support I have received and look forward to getting to work addressing the important issues our state and nation are facing.

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Jesse White:

I want to be clear that I could not and will not in good conscious sign my name to any appointment made by Governor Rod Blagojevich to fill the senate vacancy. This governor was arrested in part for trying to sell this very same senate seat.

I want to thank the Illinois Supreme Court for their ruling today. They have affirmed what Attorney General Lisa Madigan and I have maintained all along: that I have fulfilled my legal obligations to appoint Roland Burris to the U.S. Senate.

Comments

[sciphy]

Any one watching Blago's behavior right now with a psychiatric eye can recognize delusional behavior. He is completely out of touch with the reality that surrounds him. His statements that he will "fight, fight" and reading poetry during his press conferences? Really, this man does not have his faculties with him. It is for this reason that I cannot support his nomination of Mr. Burris. The State and people of Illinois are the ones who are left to suffer with this mess of having an unfit Governor. The State's finances are in a such a mess--bills have not been paid and decisions are not being made. We cannot have something as important as a senate nomination come from this process. Atty General Madigan was right to go before the Supreme court and ask that the Governor be removed for being unfit. He should have been called before the Court and subjected to psychiatric analysis. He is unfit. He really does not recognize right and wrong. Reality has become very blurry for the Governor, but it's quite clear for many of the rest of us.

[Vespasian]

Senate majority leader Harry Reid really must go. He and Senator Durbin, and other Senators, have gotten themselves out on limb relative to seating Senator Roland Burris of Illinois. Now they are looking to save “face“.

Durbin says that “it would be best if “impeachment of Blagojevich moves forward in the Illinois Senate, the governor is removed from office, and then Lt. Gov. Pat Quinn appoints Obama's replacement.” It would also be best if our Supreme Court had not anointed George Bush as President… but that’s not the case.

Blagojevich is impeached by the state legislature and will be tried. He will probably be indicted by a Federal Attorney. But he is still “innocent until proven guilty“. He is still the elected Governor of Illinois.

Burris was appointed by the sitting Governor, certified by Secretary of State and the Supreme Court of Illinois. He is the junior Senator for that state. The Senate must seat him… now. We've had eight long years of a Republican government that held itself above the law. We don’t need eight more of the same from Democrats.

Democrats have won a resounding victory. Cynics have been wondering how we could possibly screw this up. This little embarrassment is a first step. Reid already lost one battle… with Senator Joe Lieberman. Now a second… with an embattled Governor and a 71 year old Senator. It is not clear that he can even deliver the votes of his own party. Reid really should go!

[maxfax]

Harry and Dick, give it up, seat Burris, otherwise you're making fools out of yourselves.

[kevinw]

White signed a document certifying the appointment. Reid and his weak willed sidekick will have to come up with another obstacle to keep Burris from integrating the Senate. I guess they are bored with nothing to do in Washington these days. The lawsuits that should begin next week will be exciting and provocative. The suit that will be started when Lt. Governor Quinn appoints someone else should be extremely interesting. Can a interim Governor appoint someone to fill a senate seat that is not vacant. Blogo already appointed someone, who is waiting to be seated. The appointment is already filled. Impeaching Blogo was a remedy about a month ago. It is now too late. But this way, Durbin and Reid can perform a series of blunders that will probably lose this seat to the Repubs and hold up progress on the meny disasters that we are currently facing. Reid will no longer have to worry about being a leader that is not remembered. He and Durbin could end up be the adjective used to describe narcissistic self destruction by a politician or a party. Look they are pulling a reid.

[StillAmused]

Anybody home?

[nellie]

http://www.rollcall.com/news/31194-1.html

White will certify.

[Enehoa]

The Illinois Secretary of State is more powerful than a seated Governor? Hypothetically, if the Governor makes a decision, the Secretary of State could veto his authority. Interesting concept...allowing employees to overstep their authority and be engulfed in a golden light of righteousness.

[Kartoffel]

Yeah, it's an absurd concept, isn't it? Imagine if every time a governor promulgates an executive decision, lower officials down the paperwork chain declare they possess the power to veto the governor's decision by withholding a signature. Imagine all the mayors in all our cities having to deal with that. Imagine Barack Obama having to deal with it as President. Obama could issue an executive order as Commander in Chief, and down the paperwork chain some senate-confirmed Defense Department official decides he can veto it by not signing. Then the troublemaker would have to be fired and the senate convened to confirm a replacement. But then there would be nothing stopping the new guy from behaving the same way, or any of the other officials in the paperwork chain.

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

It's not a done deal, let the courts decide if the Il. Supreme Court is right or the Senate rules are right. You have a reasonable argument for a reasonable situation but Blago is under indictment and impeached by the Il. House, the Senate will soon follow suit. Quin can select a suitable replacement when sworn. It is a question of legality as yet unanswered no matter how you try to make it cut and dried.

[nellie]

It's not a question of who is more powerful. It's procedure. Both signatures are required. According to one report I heard last week, this procedure has never been waived.

[Rustyzipper]

How many more hoops do they want Burris to jump through?? whats next... his tie is crooked??

SEAT THIS MAN!!

PS, PE OBAMA, this is making you look bad, You endoreced Burris when he ran for Gov., this is another good time to endorce him... NOW!

[SpectCon]

It has nothing to do with Obama.

And what the ef is up with you people are so eager to have this guy seated? No one can really care this much about the technicalities of appointment powers can they?

Is this because he's black? That was perhaps the most offensive part of this whole nonsense.

Can you say shameless? To ride in on the back of a corrupt Gov. claiming you (well his people, like Rush claimed Burris) won't be seated (apparently they have psychic powers to detect future acts of racism) because he's black>?>?

Blago has an ego too big to be believed, perhaps only Roland can challenge him.

And you guys are honestly fighting for him....like some special cause for disgraced Governor to have power to dictate the Senator. Burris is not elected, this whole process is undemocratic. That's why I don't mind Reid using his undemocratic powers of Senatorial prerogative to deny Burris a seat.

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

Thanks Spec,
It is sad how many people are willing to have a man as Senator who let a man languish in prison knowing he was innocent, They just don't get it. I'm Black and would be sad at seeing a man who is so concerned with his legacy written on his mausoleum. A man who names his kids Roland and Rolanda has an ego so great that a Senate appointment from a crook is acceptable.

[Rustyzipper]

I am so Pi$$ed at Durbin (My Senator), what is wrong with this man? is he wanting a Inauguration Day Rally for Burris?? Get this over NOW!

My respect for Our Senator has gone down the Tubes, I even had a fund raiser for him when he first ran for the Senate.... he's lucky he was just re-elected.

How many more hoops do they want Burris to jump through?? whats next... his tie is crooked??

SEAT THIS MAN!!

PS, PS OBAMA, this is making you look bad, You endoreced Burris when he ran for Gov., this is another good time to endorce him... NOW!.

[SpectCon]

Don't seat Burris because the man was appointed by a fraud in a completely undemocratic manner.

Throw out Blago and let an untainted Gov appoint someone, or hold a special election.

No way does Burris deserve this.

[kevinw]

What appointments are made in a democratic manner. If you feel that appointments are not representative of the people, then we need to change the the US constitution on this matter and many State constitutions as well. It is amasing that the only time we seem to care about special elections rather than appointing replacements is when there is a Democratic Governor. The time to start a movement for doing away with appointments would be now. The New York and Illinois seats are already handled by current law. Get the practice changed. Special elections are not the answer for some vacancies. If you feel they are appropriate then they should be used for all appointments.

[NotMcCain]

Dear Senator Durbin,

How about taking a stand on something that's actually, you know, F-ing IMPORTANT?????

The Bush-Paulsen $350 BILLION theft.....

The current Israeli-Gaza WAR.....

The CRIMINAL conduct of this administration for 8 years.


Burris is legally appointed. G*d. Why won't you WUSSES give the DEMOCRAT his seat and move the H*ll ON !!!!!

[Paul Peete - Huffpost Blogger]

If he were legally appointed he would be Senator Burris. Right now he is just wanna be Senator Burris. Sen. Durbin is right, wait until Blago goes and he is going, going, poof! Gone to the Pen.

[FairisFair]

he was legally appointed. Gov. Blago hasn not been indicited and might be impeached but that does not strip his governor powers. If so then the special election that was certified by Jessie White for Emmanuel seat would be illegal, the many bills he signed would be illegal. You can not pick and choice what is legal. If Fitzgerald was not so quick to be the hero, he would have waited till his ducks were in a role before arresting Blago, it was personal. I think Burris should be seated and it will be to us in Illinois if we want him to be a Senator in 2010. The Media and the stupid senate has made this issue a cricus.

[kevinw]

He is the appointed Senator for the State of Illinois. The Senate is blocking his being seated. Only the courts will be able to rule on whether his appointment marks the seat as being filled or not by the appointment. This could be an interesting court decision. Lets say an older Governor appoints someone to fill a Senate vacancy. He dies in the night prior to the person being sworn in. Does the new Governor have the right to appoint his own choice for the seat. It is possible for the Lt. Governor to be from the other party. The question for the court would be when does the selection process become final. Is it at appointment or acceptance of certifying documents in the Senate or the actual swearing in? The legal questions on this do not disappear just because Blago does.

[Rustyzipper]

I am so Pissed at Durbin (My Senator), what is wrong with this man? is he wanting a Inauguration Day Rally for Burris?? Get this over NOW!

My respect for Our Senator has gone down the Tubes, I even had a fund raiser for him when he first ran for the Senate.... he's lucky he was just re-elected.

How many more hoops do they want Burris to jump through?? whats next... his tie is crooked??

SEAT THIS MAN!!

PS, PS OBAMA, this is making you look bad, You endoreced Burris when he ran for Gov., this is another good time to endorce him... NOW!

[jtown]

Burris should be seated. Durbin has a lots to lose in IL , if he continues to block Burris from getting seated. Anyone who get's seated by the current Gov, or the Lt Gov is questionable, so I say seat Burris and be the hell done with crap!

[SpectCon]

Durbin has nothing to lose. No one honestly believes this is about race.

Everyone was right to say they wouldn't accept Blago's pick two weeks ago. I don't care how much you

[kevinw]

Forget about race. Durbin and Reid are spending precious newscycle time demonstrating to the general public how bumbling and inept they are. They pretended to have a nice meeting with the nice man Burris. At the end they said all he had to do was testify and bring back the magic signature. He now has done both. They still don't want to seat him which means the whole nice man press conference was a lie. We are currently watching the crumbling of all of the cornerstones of the republic. The economy, military, job policy, health care are all in flames. They are making the only moral stand taken by the Democratic leadership on Burris being seated. Not FISA, or the Bailout, or torture. No we must stand at the gate to preserve the dignity and reputation of the Senate. The fact that they believe there is currently a reputation to save shows how out of touch they really are.

[LITNUP]

AAHHHH Dick..... You and Harry said you would not seat a Blagomama appointee before you said you would before yesterday when you said you wouldn't....

[jwarrener]

Right now the Democrats need as many votes as possible to overcome any potential Republican filibusters. The Minnesota seat will take months to resolve so why in the world--given the fact that they have no legal leg to stand on--would they block Burris from taking office? He has said under oath that there was no special consideration given for his nomination. If that turns out to be false then the Senate can censure him later.
I wish Reid and the Democrats were as steadfast against Cheney and Bush and the abuses that they did as they are to a potential ally.
Bottom line is that the country is in trouble so get your act together Democrats and help fix things and STOP wasting time on things that may not be to your liking but have Constitutional legitimacy.

[SpectCon]

Yeah, so let's put in a some unelected joke, riding in on the back of a corrupt Gov, who hasn't gotten elected to anything since the early 90s, using racebaiting (no shame), all so Burris can collect a pension, spend 2 years campaigning and then hand the seat over to the GOP.

Your ADHD might cost us the 60th seat. Be patient. The Dems can do whatever they want. They don't need him.

[bygollymissmolly]

I am hoping that the Senate comes up with a better reason not to seat Burris, because the lack of a signature could change in a heartbeat.

I think that the Democrats in the Senate need to say that there are some indications that Burris may have been more involved in lobbying for the job than he first said and he may have been involved in a "pay to play" scheme.

We need to know more about Burris' business partner helping Blago's wife get a seat on a Board. That was one of Blago's "pay" alternatives to "play", so this issue needs further investigation.

I'm getting a bad feeling that Burris is dirty and if he is, we need to know about it before we seat him. If he is seated and then it is revealed that he did actually "pay to play", it's going to be a lot harder on the Democrats than if they wait to seat him until a thorough investigation can be made into what Burris actually did to get the appointment. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

[oscartucker]

Bygollymissmolly says: "I think that the Democrats in the Senate need to say that there are some indications that Burris may have been more involved in lobbying for the job than he first said and he may have been involved in a "pay to play" scheme.

We need to know more about Burris' business partner helping Blago's wife get a seat on a Board. That was one of Blago's "pay" alternatives to "play", so this issue needs further investigation."

***In all of this circus atmoshphere, there should have been "investigation" going on. If there is ANY problem with Burris, Durbin and Reed had better "have the goods on him" or they will look foolish for just the "signature" excuse!

***Where is the Illinois Secretary of State? Who's telling him NOT TO SIGN??? Is he obstructing??? All of this is getting to be the wrong focus; there are too many problems.

*** Swear in Burris, and If Burris is "tainted", he should be arrested the moment there is solid evidence.

[FairisFair]

Lobbying for the appointment is not illegal. Seat Burris, the man may have an ego but he capable of doing the job.

[suuzie]

Senators Reid and Durbin, please don't seat Burris, you would only be compounding the problem. What person truly thinking about the people of Illinois and doing the right thing would accept an appointment from a man like Blago? Burris' actions tells you a lot about the type of person he is, he sounds to have the ego of Blago and puts himself first, regardless of how it will affect the people.

[mjb5406]

You sound like a fellow Illinoisan. I agree wholeheartedly... Burris is only interested in his legacy, to be inscribed on his mausoleum... he has little interest in being an effective senator.

[tokenconservative]

While I do love his mausoleum and his many achievements, including being the first african american member to not be a CPA and be on the board of the Illinois CPA association, the longer this drags out the more you muddy the names of Reid, Durbin, and most importantly Obama. I don't like him either, but I think Republicans are doing the right thing from a public relations and Constitutional perspective; mark my words Burris will be seated, it's just a matter of when.

[SpectCon]

Great point about Burris' ego. Of course, I kind of suspect he has to have a reason to push this so hard, rather than just praise Quinn and give everyone an out by letting the new Gov. appoint him. Burris either is worried something will come out soon, or he is a political idiot with a giant ego.

[NotMcCain]

Maybe this explains Durbin's posturing? To placate voters in ILLinois?

Because, whatever the flaws of Mr. Burris, the appointment's legal. The man's a Democrat, and apparently clean.


He needs to be seated. And we (Congress) needs to move ON.....