Burris testimony inconsistent with affidavit on seeking senate job

Chicago Sun-Times:

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For the first time, Burris indicated that he asked Blagojevich's former chief of staff and college classmate, Lon Monk, to relay his interest in the Senate seat to the governor last July or September.

"If you're close to the governor, you know, let him know I'm certainly interested in the seat," Burris said he told Monk.

That testimony appears to differ from an affidavit Burris submitted to the impeachment panel this week in which he stated he spoke to no "representatives" of the governor about the Senate post prior to Dec. 26.

Federal prosecutors, who identified Monk as "Lobbyist 1" in their criminal complaint against Blagojevich, indicated they tapped Monk's phone in November as Blagojevich moved to fill President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.

Whether the new Monk detail poses any threat to Burris' efforts to persuade Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) to allow him to be seated isn't clear, but Republicans on the state impeachment panel see a contradiction.

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It does appear to be an inconsistency. It comes at a time when momentum appeared to be on Burris's side. I think Republicans are not going to pursue the matter because they see Burris as a weak candidate who will be further tainted by the Blagojevich scandal and ripe for defeat in 2010. Democrats probably see it that way too, but they have been embarrassed by their attempts to block him. I think they want the story to go away.