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*Roland Burris was nearly run over by the media outside of Capitol Hill Tuesday when he showed up as Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich's pick to replace Barack Obama in the U.S. Senate, and was promptly rejected – as expected.
Secretary of the Senate Nancy Erickson denied his certification, saying it lacked Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature and the state seal.
Burris, 71, then led a scrum of lawyers, consultants, police and reporters across the street in pouring rain, to a news conference which Burris aides said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid had tacitly allowed.
Erickson, Burris reported, had advised him that "I would not be accepted, and I will not be seated, and I will not be permitted on the floor."
Burris called on the Illinois Supreme Court to order White to certify his appointment. An attorney for Burris, Timothy W. Wright III, said that "our credentials were rejected by the secretary of the Senate. We were not allowed to be placed in the record book. We were not allowed to proceed to the floor for purposes of taking oath. All of which we think was improperly done and is against the law of this land."
Democrats and President-elect Barack Obama have said that the corruption charges against Blagojevich would taint anyone he appointed to the seat. Blagojevich denies federal accusations that he tried to sell the seat Obama has given up for the presidency.
In a written statement Tuesday, the governor said allegations against him shouldn't be held against Burris, whom he called a "good and decent man."
In a surprise move, key Democratic chairwoman Dianne Feinstein said seating Burris was, in fact, the legal thing to do. She rejected the reasoning that all of the chamber's Democrats, herself included, had cited in a letter last week — that corruption charges against Blagojevich left a dark cloud over his appointment.
"Does the governor have the power, under law, to make the appointment? And the answer is yes," said Feinstein, chairwoman of the Senate Rules Committee, which judges the credentials of senators.
UPDATE ...
*The Wall Street Journal is now reporting that Senate Democrats plan to accept Roland Burris for President-elect Barack Obama's vacant seat. As reported above, on Tuesday, the Senate formally rejected Burris, who was nominated by embattled Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, but the matter has become a political headache for Democratic lawmakers.
Related article: Opposition to seating Burris in Senate weakening
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