Media Availability WIth Senator Richard Durbin
Press Conference
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SEN. DURBIN: Hello.
Q Hey, Senator.
Q Hello, Senator.
SEN. DURBIN: I had an opportunity to meet with Roland Burris in my office. (Cross talk.)
STAFF: (Inaudible) -- head down -- (inaudible).
(Cross talk.)
SEN. DURBIN: I had a -- start over -- had an opportunity to meet with Roland Burris in my office for the first time in the 10 days, for a face-to-face conversation about the disclosures that have come to light. We talked about the entire process, from his selection by Governor Blagojevich to his appointment and what has happened since.
Harry Reid and I made it very clear from the outset that there were two conditions to Roland Burris's appointment: first, that he file the same paperwork required of every senator ever appointed to the United States Senate, which ultimately happened; but secondly, that he appear before the Illinois House Impeachment Committee in Springfield and answer their questions completely, honestly, under oath, relating to his appointment by Governor Blagojevich to this Senate seat.
That was the only way that we felt, Senator Reid and I felt, that we could bring out as many facts as possible and protect the integrity of the United States Senate, during the course of this whole appointment.
We talked about that today. And I told my colleague Senator Burris that I was disappointed, disappointed that his testimony in Springfield was not complete and it required a second affidavit to be filed, disappointed that he didn't make a clear, accurate disclosure of all the circumstances surrounding his appointment, until several weeks after the fact.
The fact that he did not volunteer -- volunteer -- the names of people -- like Rod Blagojevich's brother, who contacted him, and others -- was troubling to me, because I considered that to be one of the conditions for him to go forward and to secure this appointment. That's why the disclosures of the last 10 days have been so troubling, because we have certainly asked for more and hoped for more. And we didn't receive it.
I also talked about my disappointment over his efforts, whether they were successful or unsuccessful, to raise money for Governor Blagojevich, because we know this is a critical element here.
Governor Blagojevich, the former governor, has been charged with trying to sell the Senate seat. And so raising money or trying to raise money for him was in fact, you know, a very important fact that should have been brought forward and was not.
I asked him if he would be a candidate in 2010. He said he had not made up his mind as to whether he would be a candidate. I told him I thought it would be extremely difficult for him to be successful in a primary or a general election under the circumstances.
We talked about some of the pressure he and his family are under because of this, involving the pressure of a lot of legal fees. He estimates that the legal fees to date are substantial, hundreds of thousands of dollars. And he has personally put a lot of money into this as well.
I told him that under the circumstances, I would consider resigning if I were in his shoes.
He said he would not resign, and that was his conclusion.
And so at this point I suggested to him he had to do everything in his power to bring all the facts out as completely as possible. He told me he was limited in some respects in terms of speaking to the press, making other public statements.
But he still has to deal directly with the Senate Ethics Committee, which is considering this matter, as well as the Sangamon County, Illinois, state's attorney, John Schmidt, who's been given evidence to consider whether a prosecution should be followed there for a variety of different charges.
Those are the -- that's the situation, as I know it. And it's now up to Senator Burris to deal with the facts and challenges before him.
Q Senator, do you wish a special election, in light of everything that's happened? You originally suggested a special election. Is that really what should have happened here?
SEN. DURBIN: Well, I think a special election was the right way to go. I'll tell you the problem, and the problem relates to the economy as much as politics. It's a $40 (million) or $50 million undertaking in our state, and a lot of units of government -- the city of Chicago would have been on the hook for $5 million or something -- to hold a special election.
We tried to sync it up with some local elections and couldn't get it done. With Blagojevich being impeached, with debate in the General Assembly, the timing didn't work. It would have been a clean break with the past and a clean effort to fill the seat.
Q So do you support a resignation and another -- and an appointment by Pat Quinn?
SEN. DURBIN: What I've done is, I've made my recommendation to Senator Burris, and he's told me clearly that he will not resign.
Now, there are a lot of people, including a lot of editorial writers, who think that I have a very persuasive way about me with Mr. Burris, and I will just tell you that is not the case. He contacted me before he was appointed by Governor Blagojevich, and I advised him, "Don't do it." He did it anyway. So my advice obviously doesn't move him.
(Cross talk.)
Q Senator Durbin -- (inaudible) -- some of your Democratic colleagues, as far as their feelings about Senator Burris. Do your views tend to reflect those of other Democrats in the leadership? How so?
SEN. DURBIN: I won't speak for anybody but myself here, other than just say, in the most general terms, members are concerned about this. Again, it raises, sadly, the specter of political controversy in my home state. I'm telling you our people of Illinois are bone- weary of this stuff. They want this Blagojevich burlesque to end, and they want to move on. We have a lot of things that need to be done with our new governor and the General Assembly.
As far as my colleagues here in the Senate, they're grasping, as I am, to try to get to the truth of this situation. They're confused and concerned about disclosures that have been made. But you know, each of them will have to speak for himself.
(Cross talk.)
Q Senator, one more --
Q Senator -- (inaudible) -- since he is going to be here for a while.
How do you -- what is your working relationship? How will you deal with each other in the future?
SEN. DURBIN: I'm going do what's best for the state. And working with Senator Burris on some issues -- absolutely essential. There are some appointments that require the signature of both senators, for example. So we will find ways to cooperate and work together. I don't want the people of Illinois to lose anything because of this controversy.
Q Do you think he's --
Q Senator Durbin, Senator Reid has said that he will work with Senator Burris. How are we to read the difference in your position with Senator Reid's?
SEN. DURBIN: There's no difference. I will work with him. He is a senator from Illinois.
Q But Senator, do you think he can actually --
Q But you're calling on him to resign, right?
Q Do you think he can actually weather this?
SEN. DURBIN: No, what I -- I said -- what I -- get the quote carefully.
Q Can you force him out?
SEN. DURBIN: No, I can't force him out.
The -- what I said was, you know, if I were in your shoes, I would consider resigning. He said --
Q Do you think that he should resign?
(Cross talk.)
SEN. DURBIN: Excuse me. Excuse me. If I were in your shoes, I would consider resigning. He said, I'm not going to resign.
Q But do you think he should resign?
SEN. DURBIN: I've given the answer.
Q Do you think he can weather this?
Q So you're not saying it's a matter for the public good that he should resign?
SEN. DURBIN: What I'm saying is that I believe that with what he faces, if I were in that position, I would resign.
Q Senator, how well do you think he can represent your state?
SEN. DURBIN: I think we found that there are limits, when he can't travel to certain places because of media questions. I don't know, maybe this is an indication of the interest. But he is limited in what he can do because of the circumstances. Maybe that will change. I don't know.
Q Do you think the Ethics Committee should hold public hearings and that the Senate should move to make it either hard for him to stay or run him out?
SEN. DURBIN: I don't -- well, let me tell you, there is a process and he is entitled to that process. Every senator's entitled to that process. It is an investigation and a determination of whether to move forward. As to whether it's a public or private hearing, that's something Senator Boxer and Senator Isakson will have to decide. I don't even know what the standards are for that. I wouldn't want to suggest it.
Q So if he were to run, would you actively work to try to defeat him in a primary?
SEN. DURBIN: No, I -- let me -- I'm not going to jump -- I'm not -- what was the question? (Laughs.)
Q If he were to run, would you actively work to try to defeat him in a primary?
SEN. DURBIN: I told him that I would not be supporting him in the 2010 election.
Q Senator, given your knowledge on Senate Judiciary -- given the charges that are -- that he's facing, the situation he's in, do you think he can actually weather this and stay?
SEN. DURBIN: I don't know. I don't know the answer. I can just tell you that it's -- he's facing a lot of serious challenges. We're talking about the political side of this. There is a legal side to this in Sangamon County in Illinois as well as in the Ethics Committee; it's going to require legal representation and a lot of effort on his part.
Thank you all very much.
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