Obama replacement turned away
2009-01-06 18:25
Washington - US officials on Tuesday refused to allow the man chosen by Illinois's scandal-tainted governor to replace president-elect Barack Obama to be sworn in at start of a new Senate session.
"I presented my credentials to the secretary of the senate, and advised that my credentials were not in order," Roland Burris said, after arriving at the Capitol building surrounded by reporters.
Burris, who was last week picked to fill Obama's vacant Senate seat by Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich, said he was not seeking a confrontation on the first day of the new Senate and would now consult his lawyers.
Blagojevich is under investigation amid allegations he had sought to sell the empty Senate seat to the highest bidder.
- AFP