Burris story: From sleazy to surreal

U.S. Sen. Roland Burris today said he shouldn't be blamed for any lack of candor while under oath earlier this year before a special Illinois House panel about his appointment to the seat because his duty was only to answer the questions posed by the committee members and nothing more.

Briefly speaking to reporters at the Illinois Department of Employment Security, Burris said it was not his responsibility during his January appearance before the panel weighing then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich's impeachment to go out of his way to describe how he got Blagojevich's appointment.

"See, you all have got it all backwards," Burris said. "It is not upon a person who is testifying to go out of his way on anything. It is the person who has to ask the questions."

The Sangamon County state's attorney's office in Springfield is conducting an investigation to see if Burris may have committed perjury through his testimony before the impeachment panel, given subsequent documents Burris filed about his testimony and his evolving explanations about being appointed to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama. "Why should I have to, in your estimation, in your assessment, go out of my way to answer a question when I was answering questions that were asked?" Burris asked reporters. "Why didn't the impeachment committee follow up with the questions to ask me?"