Ethics Committee admonishes Burris

The Senate Ethics Committee on Friday closed its investigation into the controversial appointment of Roland Burris to fill the Illinois Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama but admonished him for “inappropriate” and “less than candid” statements about the circumstances that led up to his selection by now-indicted former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich.

In a letter to Burris, the panel said that it was issuing a “qualified admonition” but did not find evidence that supported any “actionable violations of the law.”

“You gave multiple and at times contradictory explanations for failing to disclose all your contacts with the Governor’s associates, which individually and collectively gave the appearance that you were being less than candid,” said the letter, signed by the six senators of the Ethics Committee, which is chaired by Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.).

For instance, the committee criticized Burris for not telling state legislators in sworn testimony about his desire to fundraise for Blagojevich when he was seeking the appointment to Obama’s old Senate seat, saying “these omissions are particularly noteworthy given their context” of a governor being accused of trying to sell the Senate seat.

The committee said that Burris’s Nov. 13 phone call with Robert Blagojevich —  the governor’s brother — in which he discussed possibly fundraising for the governor was “inappropriate” but “not rising to the level of an explicit quid pro quo.”

“Again, the Committee has found that your actions and statements reflected unfavorably on the Senate and issues this Public Letter of Qualified Admonition,” the senators wrote Burris.

Burris hailed the decision, saying it cleared him of any wrongdoing, just as a state’s attorney in Sangamon County, Ill., did earlier this year when he decided not to pursue perjury charges.

“I am pleased that after numerous investigations, this matter has finally come to a close,” Burris said. “I thank the members of the Senate Ethics Committee for their fair and thorough review of this matter and now look forward to continuing the important work ahead on behalf of the people of Illinois.”

Melanie Sloan, head of the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called the committee letter "one of the harshest letters the Senate Ethics Committee has issued in recent times," saying that Burris "clearly deserved it." 

The Ethics Committee said it conducted a number of interviews as part of its investigation and examined Burris’s multiple statements in public and in sworn testimony. The committee could have taken much harsher measures, including the rare move of recommending expulsion from the Senate.

While the Ethics Committee exonerated Burris, the controversy left the senator hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt and played a major role in his decision not to run for election next year.

Still, the decision is a big lift for Burris, who has been ensnared by controversy since accepting the appointment last December, and now he says he will continue to play a role in the health care debate.

Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), who urged Burris to resign over the controversy, issued a statement saying the letter of admonition "speaks for itself."

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