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Panel Backs Impeachment;
Burris: No Favors Asked

updated

Jan 8, 2009 5:43 PM CST

Panel Backs Impeachment; Burris: No Favors Asked

(Newser) - Roland Burris told Rod Blagojevich's impeachment panel today that no shady business was involved in his Senate appointment, Bloomberg reports. “I would never participate in anybody’s quid pro quo,” Burris told Illinois lawmakers. Hours after he testified, the 21-member panel voted unanimously to recommend impeachment, the Tribune ...

Burris Ties to Blago Include Donations, Job for Wife

Jan 8, 2009 12:44 PM CST

Burris Ties to Blago Include Donations, Job for Wife

Senate aspirant no stranger to pay-to-play politics

(Newser) - Senate Democrats are lauding Roland Burris as a faithful public servant who happens to owe his appointment to a crooked governor, but the Illinois politician has some pretty close—perhaps suspect—ties to Blagojevich, the Chicago Tribune reports. Burris and affiliates in his lobbying firm contributed $20,000 to Blagojevich...

Ill. House Panel: Impeach Blago

Jan 8, 2009 11:41 AM CST

Ill. House Panel: Impeach Blago

Body documents numerous charges against governor

(Newser) - The Illinois House panel investigating Rod Blagojevich today released a report recommending his impeachment, the Chicago Tribune reports. The 69-page draft includes a laundry list of offenses, including misuse of state funds, refusing to release federal subpoenas to the public, and the much-publicized pay-to-play allegation. The committee said the governor’...

Blago's Impeachment Is a Go, Even Without Tapes

Jan 6, 2009 10:38 AM CST

Blago's Impeachment Is a Go, Even Without Tapes

Panel says it has sufficient evidence

(Newser) - Members of Rod Blagojevich's impeachment panel say they will move forward despite the possibility that they might not get to hear federal wiretaps of the governor's conversations with aides and others. "These tapes are relevant evidence, we'd like to have them," said a lawyer for the impeachment panel,...

Burris Arrives at Senate,
Not Allowed to Take Oath

Jan 6, 2009 10:28 AM CST

Burris Arrives at Senate, Not Allowed to Take Oath

Franken also not seated

(Newser) - Roland Burris strode briskly past the cameras through the rain into the Capitol today, demanding to be seated as Illinois’ Senator but was denied entry, CNN reports. The secretary of the Senate rejected his credentials, preventing him from taking the floor or the oath of office. It was "improperly...

Senate Clerk Rejects Burris Paperwork

Jan 5, 2009 2:13 PM CST

Senate Clerk Rejects Burris Paperwork

But former AG says he's confident his appointment is legal

(Newser) - The secretary of the Senate blocked the appointment of Roland Burris to Barack Obama's former seat today on the grounds that Burris’ certificate of appointment lacked the signature of Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White, CNN reports. White has refused to sign the certificate because of the controversy over Burris’...

Prosecution Gets 3 More
Months to Indict Blago

Jan 5, 2009 12:40 PM CST

Prosecution Gets 3 More Months to Indict Blago

(Newser) - A federal judge in Chicago today granted prosecutors an additional 3 months to present evidence and obtain an indictment in the corruption case against Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich. Chief Judge James Holderman said the case against Blagojevich is too complex to expect prosecutors to obtain an indictment by a...

Reid Pressured
Blago on Senate Pick

Jan 3, 2009 3:37 PM CST

Reid Pressured Blago on Senate Pick

(Newser) - Harry Reid called Rod Blagojevich after the election, but before the governor’s arrest, to discourage him from appointing unelectable candidates to Barack Obama’s Senate seat, the Chicago Sun-Times reports. The Senate majority leader sought to put the kibosh on Reps. Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, along with...

Ill. Puts Blago
Impeachment
on Fast Track

Jan 3, 2009 9:38 AM CST

Ill. Puts Blago Impeachment on Fast Track

Gov's access to Homeland Security info yanked

(Newser) - The Illinois House speaker is calling lawmakers back to session early for a possible impeachment vote on Rod Blagojevich next week, the Chicago Tribune reports. The move could help Democrats block Blago nominee Roland Burris from taking Barack Obama's Senate seat, reports the New York Times. Illinois House officials say...

Blago's the 'Gift That
Keeps On Giving'

OPINION

Jan 2, 2009 3:50 PM CST

Blago's the 'Gift That Keeps On Giving'

No end to antics for Governor Dead Meat

(Newser) - Covering Rod Blagojevich—aka “Gov. Dead Meat”—has been so much fun for Chicago Tribune columnist John Kass that in today’s mailbag column, a reader asks how much he’s paying Blago for the “gift that keeps on giving.” Kass’ reply: “As our esteemed...

Outrageous Corruption, Bribery Rule Afghanistan

Jan 2, 2009 8:56 AM CST

Outrageous Corruption, Bribery Rule Afghanistan

Obama may have to save government from itself

(Newser) - Before he can defend Afghanistan’s government from the Taliban, Barack Obama may need to save it from itself. Bribery and corruption are astonishingly pervasive in Afghanistan, Dexter Filkins reports in the New York Times. Everything from settling a lawsuit to getting electricity to entering an airport requires a bribe,...

Dems May Ask Cops to Keep Burris Off Senate Floor

Jan 1, 2009 10:13 PM CST

Dems May Ask Cops to Keep Burris Off Senate Floor

(Newser) - The inauguration ceremony for new senators is generally not a must-see affair, but then Rod Blagojevich never played a role before. Democratic aides tell CNN they will block the Illinois governor's appointment, Roland Burris, from entering the Senate chamber Tuesday, even if it means calling in the Capitol police. Burris...

Well Played, Blago

opinion

Dec 31, 2008 7:25 PM CST

Well Played, Blago

'Skin pigment trumps ideas' among Dems: Kass

(Newser) - Roland Burris says this is his media moment, but Illinois' "circus of the politically bizarre" still belongs to Rod Blagojevich, John Kass writes in the Chicago Tribune. No hapless jester, the brazenly calculated governor has dumped Democrats back into the racial politics Obama was supposed to transcend.

Confident Burris:
'I Am the Senator'

Dec 31, 2008 5:14 PM CST

Confident Burris: 'I Am the Senator'

'I am the senator,' former Illinois Attorney General said

(Newser) - Roland Burris is declaring himself the junior senator from Illinois, and he's confident that Democrats will "come around" and ditch their efforts to block his appointment, the Wall Street Journal reports. If they don't, he's got a team of lawyers ready to fight, but he doesn't think it will...

Blagojevich Offered Job
to Davis First

Dec 31, 2008 10:25 AM CST

Blagojevich Offered Job to Davis First

But rep wouldn't take appointment from disgraced governor

(Newser) - Danny Davis wants to be a US senator, but not badly enough to accept an appointment from Rod Blagojevich. The disgraced governor’s attorney met with Davis and offered him Barack Obama’s seat last Wednesday, the US rep tells the Chicago Sun-Times. Davis had lobbied for the seat when...

Obama Blasts Blago's Move

Dec 30, 2008 5:47 PM CST

Obama Blasts Blago's Move

(Newser) - Barack Obama today criticized Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's decision to appoint a successor to the president-elect's Senate seat, CNN reports. Obama called the governor's move "disappointing" and said he backed Democrats' position of blocking any such appointment. Obama again urged Blagojevich to resign so Illinois could have a "...

In Mexico, Corruption Is Rampant and Pervasive

Dec 30, 2008 4:14 PM CST

In Mexico, Corruption Is Rampant and Pervasive

(Newser) - During his two years in office, Mexican President Felipe Calderón has made a valiant attempt to expel corruption from his government, but many think his efforts are quixotic at best, the Christian Science Monitor reports. “I don't think there is ever a point that Calderón can claim...

Blago Names Burris;
Senate Dems Say
'No Way'

UPDATED

Dec 30, 2008 3:06 PM CST

Blago Names Burris; Senate Dems Say 'No Way'

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich announced today that former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris will fill Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, the Chicago Tribune reports. Blagojevich said Burris was a man of "unquestioned integrity" and asked that people not allow "the allegations against me to taint this good and honest...

The Bra Wire
That Brought
Down Blago

GLOSSIES

Dec 29, 2008 1:25 PM CST

The Bra Wire That Brought Down Blago

Ill. corruption probe started with hospital administrator

(Newser) - The FBI corruption investigation that ended with the Illinois governor started in the bra of a surburban Chicago hospital exec, Nina Burleigh writes in the New Yorker. In 2003, Pamela Davis was trying to get a new building approved when she was told to use a certain contractor or kiss...

Blago: 'I'm on the
Wrong Planet'

Dec 27, 2008 10:52 AM CST

Blago: 'I'm on the Wrong Planet'

'His people' meaning 'crooks'?

(Newser) - Rod Blagojevich said yesterday that if what he's done is an impeachable offense, he's living on the "wrong planet." Speaking to a reporter outside a Chicago law office, the governor said he was hired to fight for the people of Illinois, and that's what he was doing in...