The governor was arrested six days before the Dec. 15 deadline, so we’ll never know for sure if Burris — who at the time was seeking President Obama’s vacated senate seat — intended to follow through on that statement to Robert Blagojevich, who was allegedly seeking to help his brother trade the seat for cash. But there are several other layers in that conversation that haven’t gotten as much attention as they might deserve.

First, Burris contemplates ways to disguise a contribution to the governor’s campaign so that it wouldn’t appear related to the Senate appointment process, at one point saying he “might be able to do this in the name of Tim Wright,” his law partner.

As The Chicago Tribune points out today, Illinois law prohibits campaign donations made in the name of someone else — something Burris, once the attorney general of Illinois, might have known.

And second, Burris indicates that he won’t be able to check in with Wright for several more days because Wright was “in New York trying to drum up business.” What sort of business? “He’s trying to get a part of that, ah, federal bailout stuff,” Burris says. “Cause you know we’re, you know he’s, we’ve got a financial law firm here so they’re trying to get involved in that.”

So in summary, we’ve got a former state attorney general whose law partner is busy chasing federal bailout dollars around the country while he’s scratching his head over how to make clandestine contributions through that partner to an allegedly corrupt governor while at the same time not jeopardizing the chance that the governor might appoint him to the U.S. Senate.

This whole episode might not be illegal — it might not even breach the Senate’s lax ethics rules — but it sure does make a case for stemming the influence of money in politics.

The Democratic senator from Illinois — appointed to the upper chamber in January amid a wave of controversy over then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D-Ill.), who tapped Burris for the post — has distanced himself from his disgraced appointer skillfully enough to have kept his seat this long despite early opposition from Democratic leaders. Blagojevich, of course, was arrested in December on charges of attempting to sell the Senate seat being vacated by President Obama — a situation that left Democrats fearing the thought of a tainted Blagojevich appointment roaming the halls of the upper chamber.

No matter. During the announcement of his appointment in December, Burris told reporters that he had “no relationship with that situation.” A few days later, he said in an affidavit that he had no conversations with Blagojevich’s camp about the Senate seat prior to his appointment. Yesterday, as Kathleen mentioned, Burris told the Chicago Sun-Times that he’s adjusting well and feels “right on course.”

Case closed? Not quite.

The Senate Ethics Committee is still investigating the circumstances surrounding his appointment, and yesterday (long after the Sun-Times piece ran) a federal judge in Chicago released secretly recorded FBI tapes revealing that Burris, well, lied about his contacts with Blagoevich’s folks. Indeed, the tapes indicate that Burris had offered the Illinois governor a check.

The Washington Post explains:

During the Nov. 13 conversation, Burris told the governor’s brother, Rob Blagojevich, that he was willing to join a fundraising event and would send a personal check.

“I will personally do something. And it’ll be done before the 15th of December,” Burris said. He added, “And tell Rod to keep me in mind for that seat, would ya?”

Just how many lives does Burris have? We might soon find out.

Two powerhouses in Chicago’s Indian-American community told the team of then-Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) that Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-Ill.) would raise $5 million for the governor in return for the Senate seat being vacated by Barack Obama, the Chicago Sun-Times reported today.

The first [approach] came from Rajinder Bedi, a state employee who acted as a conduit to the Indian community for Blagojevich, sources say. Bedi met with the governor’s brother, Robert, to tell him that a longtime fund-raiser and wealthy health care businessman, Raghuveer Nayak, would help organize fund-raising within the Indian community and that Jackson would raise money as well.

Then, at an Oct. 31 planning luncheon at the India House restaurant in Schaumburg, Nayak delivered a similar message to Robert Blagojevich, the Sun-Times has learned. Nayak allegedly identified himself to the Blagojevich camp as a representative of Jackson, sources say.

At some point, signals were crossed in communicating the dollar amounts, though, leaving Rod Blagojevich to believe, according to the criminal complaint against him, that he would be paid $1.5 million should he appoint Jackson to fill Obama’s seat.

But the offer was really supposed to be $5 million raised by Jackson, as well as up to $1 million from the Indian community, sources said.

Jackson has denied any wrongdoing and vows to cooperate with any investigations (including that launched by a congressional panel earlier this month). Still, you can be sure he’s wishing that this news hadn’t broken in what is likely to be a fairly slow news week, with Congress on recess and the Somali pirate saga now ended.

Blagojevich has claimed that Jackson’s emissaries had offered cash to the Illinois governor in return for an appointment to the Senate seat vacated by President Obama — a charge Jackson has denied.

From The Sun-Times:

The panel has asked parties in the Blagojevich case — including his former gubernatorial staff and campaign staff — to turn over any documents, emails, or other correspondence involving Jackson Jr. and his campaign staff, Jackson’s brother, Jonathan, and political fund-raisers Raghuveer Nayak and Rajinder Bedi, lawyers close to the probe told the Sun-Times. The request for information is from June of last year through Dec. 31, 2008.

Nayak, Bedi and Jonathan Jackson attended a Dec. 6 fund-raiser hosted by the Indian community for Friends of Blagojevich. People attending the event have told the Sun-Times that discussions about future fund-raising for congressman Jackson’s Senate candidacy took place at the function.

Jackson has not been charged with any wrongdoing, The Sun-Times clarified.

Will he resign? Will he quote a British poet? Will he channel his inner Clint Eastwood? Will he deliver a Mr. Smith-esque filibuster? Is that even allowed? Only time will tell…

It’s the TV event of the century, on … right … now!

None of the funds provided by this Act may be made available to the State of Illinois, or any agency of the State, unless (1) the use of such funds by the State is approved in legislation enacted by the State after the date of the enactment of this Act, or (2) Rod R. Blagojevich no longer holds the office of Governor of the State of Illinois.

I’m unaware of any previous case of the Congress dangling a bag of money over state legislators’ heads like this before. I’d also be surprised if it fails, no matter how commanding Blagojevich looks on “The View.” Illinois is not really in the position to turn down cash right now.

Indeed, the House Appropriations Committee yesterday tweaked the bill a bit, adding amendments requiring that projects funded by the stimulus use only U.S.-made iron and steel; providing $150 million in new funding for food banks; prohibiting Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) from directing any of the funds; and forcing contractors to pay construction workers no less than prevailing local wages.

That won’t be all.

Today, both the House Ways and Means and the House Energy and Commerce panels are considering the bill. And the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is meeting as well, partly (we’re guessing) to vent frustrations about why the Democrats’ blueprint included $275 billion in tax cuts, but tens of billions less on infrastructure projects than the panel recommended last month. (Read: Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) is none too pleased.)

And this, of course, is all happening without input from Senate lawmakers, who are certain to have their own ideas about what the stimulus should prioritize. Stay tuned for more changes…

Burris was appointed Dec. 30 by disgraced Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, less than a month after the governor was arrested for allegedly scheming to “sell” the seat.

Senate Democrats initially argued that Burris should not be seated because the Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White refused to sign off on Burris’s appointment. However, the Illinois Supreme Court ruled Jan. 9 that the appointment was valid even without the Secretary of State’s signature.

No one alleged that Burris was involved in any corrupt dealings, but many, including White and many Senate Democrats, felt that it was unseemly to allow the appointment to stand, given the cloud over the governor.

For all their tough talk, the Senate Democrats backed down today. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) announced Monday afternoon that they had informed Mr. Burris that he was officially Illinois junior senator-designate.

In the face of Republican opposition to the seating of Minnesota Democrat Al Franken, who was named the winner of his Senate contest yesterday, Senate Democrats have decided that Franken won’t be sworn in with the rest of the chamber this afternoon.

Democrats had hoped to get Franken in as quickly as possible, leaning toward a provisional seating that would have given the former “Saturday Night Live” comedian all the rights and privileges of the office immediately. The issue was a thorny one, though, because Democrats are also hoping to block the arrival of Roland Burris, the former Illinois attorney general who was appointed last month by embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) to fill the Senate post vacated by President-elect Barack Obama.

Democrats have hinted that Burris is illegitimate because Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White has refused to certify Burris’ appointment, citing the scandal surrounding Blagojevich, who was arrested last month on charges of trying to sell Obama’s seat.

But the lack-of-state-certification argument would have put Democrats in a tough spot because Franken hasn’t been officially certified either. (His opponent, incumbent Sen. Norm Coleman (R), has sued over the results, and Minnesota law prevents the state from issuing election certifications until such legal proceedings have played out.) The double standard wasn’t lost on Senate Republicans, who’d vowed to try to block Franken’s seating today.

As it turns out, they won’t have to.

“There will not be an effort to seat Mr. Franken [Tuesday],” Jim Manley, spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), said last night, according to The Washington Post.

That announcement not only diffuses GOP opposition to seating Franken, but also frees Democrats to block Burris today without violating their own reason for doing so.

Who said the 111th Congress was going to be focused on policy?

Yet it appears that Roland Burris, the former Illinois attorney general appointed by embattled Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich (D) last month to fill Barack Obama’s vacant Senate seat, has every intention of arriving at the Capitol tomorrow to be sworn in for the post. From The Washington Post:

“The appointment is legal. I am the junior senator from the state of Illinois,” Burris said as he prepared to travel Monday to Washington for a full day of meetings. (With whom? He declined to say.) “The next step in the process is to be sworn in” on Tuesday.

Burris will not, however, be carrying a crucial document: the certification by Illinois Secretary of State Jesse White that the appointment is legal. White has refused to sign the certification, reiterating his reasons during an interview with Fox News today:

Well, he [Burris] is a dear friend of mine. I’ve known him for long period of time. He has impeccable credentials.

But when the governor was arrested on December the 9th, all of the constitutional officers, along with Roland Burris and Congressman Bobby Rush, all agreed that we would not honor any appointment put forth by the governor of the state of Illinois.

This gentleman [Blagojevich] had just gotten out of jail. He’s on bond. He was arrested for federal corruption charges. He’s in the process of being impeached and indicted.

So I’m on record of saying that I would not accept an appointment put forth by the governor of the state of Illinois.

That could lead to an uncomfortable encounter at the Senate’s chamber door tomorrow — a situation that’s already causing the Senate’s Sergeant of Arms Terrance Gainer to say he’ll have a talk with Burris tomorrow morning before the swearing-in ceremony to avoid any confrontation. From The Hill:

“I talked with the staff of Mr. Burris, and we are going to talk in the morning, Tuesday morning, and decide how to proceed,” Gainer said. “Mr. Burris is a law-abiding, law enforcement type of person, so we do not expect any kind of unpleasant scene.”

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.), who’s come out powerfully against seating anyone appointed by Blagojevich, seemed to temper that stance Sunday on Meet the Press, saying that “there’s always room to negotiate.”

No doubt, those negotiations are currently underway.