Politics

CHICAGO (CBS) ― Roland Burris was denied entry to the U.S. Senate Tuesday morning, when the Secretary of the Senate said his credentials were not in order.

But Burris's attorneys say he is still looking for ways to take the seat, with the support of Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.), Burris's luck may be changing.

Burris will meet on Wednesday with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) in an effort to be seated.

Meanwhile, the state House of Representatives has a way to defer Burris' appointment to committee, stalling for a time until embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich is impeached.

After going to the Capitol Tuesday, Burris, who introduced himself as the "junior Senator from the State of Illinois," told reporters outside the Capitol in Washington: "I presented my credentials to the Secretary of the Senate and was advised that my credentials are not are in order, and I will not be accepted, and will not be seated, and will not be permitted on the floor," Burris said. "Therefore, I am not seeking to have any kind of confrontation. I will consult with my attorneys on what my next step will be."

Burris's attorney, 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 books. 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. We will consider our options and we will certainly let you know what our decisions will be soon thereafter."

Asked what his options were, Wright said there possibly could be a court challenge and that Burris also would continue to talk to Senate leadership.

"Our option is to file in district court, our option is to seek to continue to deliberate with the Senate leadership and perhaps get them to reverse themselves; I think there are several options accorded," Wright said.

"We have determined that Roland Burris is the junior Senator for the State of Illinois. There is no vacancy. That vacancy has been filled by the current governor," Wright added. "Therefore, the new senator is Roland Burris."

If he filed a federal lawsuit, Burris would be relying on a constitutional provision listing just three, easily met qualifications for the job and a 1969 Supreme Court decision rebuking the House for excluding an elected, though scandal-tarred, lawmaker.

Burris arrived at the Capitol in a steady rainfall and a swarm of TV cameras to claim his Senate seat. Umbrellas partially shrouded him has he strode briskly toward the Capitol steps, followed closely by a large phalanx of reporters and photographers.

Upon going inside the Capitol, Burris was greeted by his old acquaintance, Senate sergeant-at-arms and former Illinois State Police Director Terry Gainer. Burris spent about 20 minutes in the Secretary of the Senate's office before being denied access to the Senate floor.

But late Tuesday, Feinstein, who is the outgoing chair of the Senate Rules Committee parted with many of her Democratic colleagues and said that the Senate should seat Burris.

Feinstein said blocking Burris would have ramifications for other governors' appointments. The Rules Committee decides whether Burris is qualified to serve.

"If you don't seat Mr. Burris, it has ramifications for gubernatorial appointments all over America.... He is very well-respected. I am hopeful that this will be settled," Feinstein said.

Earlier this week, Burris' nomination certificate was hand-delivered to the Secretary of the Senate, but it was not accepted because it did not have Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White's signature on it. White previously refused to certify Burris because he was picked by Gov. Rod Blagojevich, now a criminal defendant.

But none of the developments have not stopped Burris from forging ahead.

"As I read the U.S. Constitution," he said on CBS's "The Early Show" Tuesday before going to the Capitol,  "it says 'the governor shall fill a vacancy,' and as a former attorney general of my state, I have no knowledge of where a secretary of state has veto power over a governor carrying out his constitutional duties."

Burris's lawyers Tuesday night filed new pleadings with the Illinois Supreme Court asking justices to force White to sign his appointment.

"Secretary White does not have the discretion to pick and choose who, which things he affixes his seal and his signature to," attorney Philip Holloway said.

But Illinois Secretary of State spokesman David Druker said, "I think the key is that we feel we're in the right position on this issue."

Burris also maintained that the announcement by Blagojevich Monday of a date for an election for a successor to Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-Ill., proves the governor still has legal authority to carry out his duties. Emanuel will be Obama's White House chief of staff.

"There's nothing wrong with Roland Burris and there's nothing wrong with the appointment," Burris said.

Senate leaders will likely argue that the letter of appointment from Gov. Blagojevich is invalid, because it is missing the secretary of state's signature.

Reid talked about that on the senate floor Tuesday: "If Mr. Burris takes possession of valid credentials, the United States Senate will proceed in a manner that is respectful to Mr. Burris while ensuring that there is no cloud of doubt over the appointment."

Burris's lawyers are working on that.

Lynn Sweet of the Chicago Sun-Times Washington bureau said, "They certainly have the request before the Illinois supreme court for a court order to have Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White to sign the certificate so he can be accredited."

The second legal option is to ask a federal court in Washington to order that Burris be seated.

"I'm not trying to be a hero. I'm trying to represent my 13 million people of Illinois," Burris said.

Burris earlier disclosed that his aides have tried unsuccessfully to reach members of President-elect Obama's team to discuss the issue surrounding his appointment.

"My people tried to reach out to them; I don't think we heard anything,'' Burris said.

Meanwhile, Burris has been ordered to appear on Wednesday before the state House impeachment panel meeting in Springfield, but he has indicated that he will not honor the subpoena. He says he will have to be in Washington performing his senatorial duties.

State Rep. Jim Durkin, the committee's ranking Republican, says this is not acceptable.

"We have the right to hold Mr. Burris in contempt and I don't believe Mr. Burris would like that," Durkin said.

Burris said he has sent an affidavit to the committee telling them the circumstances of his appointment. In it, Burris swears that the first direct conversation about the appointment was on Dec. 26 when the governor's lawyer, Sam Adam Jr., phoned Burris.

Two days later, Adam phoned again and then visited Burris's home to confirm that Burris would accept the appointment if the governor offered. Later that day, the governor did that by telephone. Burris swore that nothing else was discussed.

Despite Durkin's irritation about this matter, he told CBS 2 Monday that he does believe, absent any evidence of wrongdoing, that Burris is legally entitled to the Senate seat. 

The governor's office issued a statement about the turn-away. He called Burris, "a decent man. … Any allegations against me should not be held against him and especially not the people of Illinois."

Earlier in the day, Burris had a similar message.

"I don't know of anything that the governor of Illinois has been convicted of and if he is convicted he should then take the punishment to the full extent of the law," Burris said. "That has absolutely nothing to do with him appointing me to the senate seat."

Roosevelt University policy studies professor Paul Green said there is no reason why Burris should not be seated.

"One doesn't know what's going on, because legally, (Burris is) absolutely correct, and there should not be any debate; there should not be any discussion. Secretary of State White really has no function in this; the statute is clear. The governor makes the selection," Green said. "I don't know how you bar somebody from a sovereign state who was legally appointed not to go to the U.S. Senate – which, by the way, is not known for being the home of many vestal virgins – and all of a sudden you have everyone shocked, outraged by this process."

Green said claims of the Burris nomination being "tainted" by Blagojevich do not have legal merit.

"They use this word 'tainted' like it has a legal definition. There's nothing there," Green said. "When Bill Clinton was impeached, he was still President of the United States. No matter how awful Blagojevich's reputation and his popularity, he's still the governor." 

A growing number of political experts say Burris is losing whatever chance he might have had to win next year's election for Obama's old Senate seat. But a similarly growing number say that the law is on his side.

CBS 2's Joanie Lum, Jay Levine and Mike Parker and the Associated Press contributed to this report.

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