On NBC’s Today, correspondent Lee Cowan had a similar take: "...some Republican lawmakers here are now calling for Senator Burris to resign. At the very least, some want to see a criminal investigation launched to see whether or not he perjured himself. As for his colleagues in the U.S. Senate, so far they're reserving judgment." ABC’s Good Morning America barely mentioned the controversy, only offering one 15-second news brief on the story. In addition to downplaying the issue, none of the three morning shows mentioned that Burris was a Democrat. Only the Early Show featured an on-screen graphic with ‘Illinois (D)’ next to Burris’s name while playing a clip of the Senator.
Early Show coverage almost portrayed Burris as a victim of Republican opponents as fill-in co-host Chris Wragge declared: "Political opponents of Senator Roland Burris, appointed to Barack Obama's seat, are already calling for Burris to resign." Thalia Assuras later described how those Republicans: "...allege he lied in January before the Illinois House Impeachment Committee investigating charges that Governor Rod Blagojevich tried to sell the Obama seat for campaign contributions or high-profile jobs."
