Zeack News

Yoshita Singh

Chicago, Jun 20 : US Senator Roland Burris will not be charged with perjury for statements he made before an Illinois investigative committee probing his appointment by impeached governor Rod Blagojevich to the Senate seat vacated by President Barack Obama.



Illinois prosecutor John Schmidt said the review into Burris' testimony before the House Special Investigative Committee is complete and there is insufficient evidence to charge him with perjury.



"A review of the evidence, consisting of numerous interviews and documents, indicates there is insufficient evidence to prove Senator Burris made a statement he knew to be false. Some of his statements were vague, but vague statements cannot support a perjury charge," Sangamon County State's Attorney Schmidt said in a statement.



Reacting to the verdict, Burris said he was pleased with Schmidt's decision and termed the investigation "thorough and fair".



"This matter has now been fully investigated. I cooperated at every phase of the process, and as I have said from the beginning, I have never engaged in any pay-to-play, never perjured myself, and came to this seat in an honest and legal way. Today's announcement confirms all that," Burris said in a statement. Z