U.S. Senate Tells Burris To GET LOST!

Roland Burris of Illinois, rejected in his bid to take a disputed new seat in the Senate on Tuesday morning, averted any public showdown by quietly accepting the refusal of his credentials inside the secretary of the Senate’s office on the third floor of the Capitol.

But Burris and his attorney vowed a legal challenge of the Senate’s refusal to acknowledge the appointment to the open seat of President-elect Barack Obama.

Senate leaders insist the appointment is tainted because Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, who has tapped Burris for the seat, is accused by federal authorities of attempting to sell the appointment. Burris is not implicated in that alleged scheme.

Away from the Capitol grounds where his entry to the Senate had been refused, Burris was left to his own by Capitol police who had escorted him into the building and out.

“My name is Roland Burris, the junior Senator from the State of Illinois,” Burris told reporters as he stood in the rain in a park. “I was advised that my credentials were not in order.”

The former attorney general of Illinois said he would take legal action, challenging the Senate’s refusal, but averted any showdown at the door of the Senate chambers. “I am not seeking to have any kind of confrontation,” Burris added.

Timothy W. Wright, a lawyer for Burris, said: “We have presented our credentials to the secretary of the Senate … Our credentials were rejected by the secretary … We were not allowed to proceed to the floor.” He vowed to fight the case.

Presenting his credentials in a third-floor Capitol room where he could not be seen by the media, Burris was on a floor where press photography is prohibited.

There would be no visual image of the Senate’s rejection of the disputed appointee from Illinois, whom Senate leaders refused to seat because of the “cloud” they say surrounds the Illinois governor who appointed him.

But Burris—appearing calm, and accepting no questions—left the secretary’s office at 10:50 a.m. EST escorted by the sergeant at arms, ushering him to an elevator as Capitol police barred photographers from snapping pictures.

Terrance Gainer, the sergeant-at-arms who would be charged with blocking Burris at the Senate chambers door if necessary, escorted him into the office. The secretary’s office is one floor above the entrance to the Senate chambers.

Burris arrived outside the Capitol at 10:25 a.m. EST, nearing the Capitol steps surrounded by a scrum of TV cameras and boom mikes and reporters, with Capitol police making way for him.

Wearing an overcoat against the rain on a cloudy and drizzly day, the man attempting to sign in as the new junior senator from Illinois was met by Terrance Gainer, the Senate sergeant at arms, wearing a raincoat.

They are old friends—Gainer was director of the Illinois state police when Burris was attorney general. And the sergeant served as a ready and friendly escort.

Gainer ushered Burris to a security line inside the Capitol.

“I am the senator,” Burris had insisted before this day.

The Senate secretary has declared that Burris does not qualify for the seat because the secretary of state of Illinois, Jesse White, has refused to certify the governor’s appointment. This provides senators with the procedural grounds on which to deny Burris access—though their motivation is clearly political, not legal.

Burris vows a legal challenge.