The Friday-Afternoon-Before-The Holiday-Weekend Document Dump

As previously reported at Right Wing Granny on March 15, Democrat Representative Joe Sestak, on February 18, told a talk show radio host that the White House had offered him a high-ranking job in return for dropping out of the Pennsylvania Democrat Primary for Senate.  On February 19, the White House denied the charge.

Frankly, I really didn’t think this was any big deal, but now I am beginning to wonder.  Today’s Washington Times carries the latest details of the story.  The story that was put out by the White House this afternoon is that ex-President Clinton was asked to approach Representative Sestak about accepting a non-paying job in the Obama Administration in exchange for dropping out of the Democrat Primary.

According to the article:

“…White House lawyer Robert F. Bauer said the job offered was a non-paying, advisory board position in the executive branch and that allegations of improper conduct by the administration “rest on factual error and lack a basis in the law.”” 

People who know a whole lot more than I do about how Washington works question the premise that a non-paying position would have been offered–it’s not even a good bribe!  The original statement by Representative Sestak was that someone in the Obama Administration had offered him a high-ranking position.  What was released today makes that statement look like a lie.  One speculation is that the conversation with ex-President Clinton is probably real, but that there may have been another conversation with a member of the Obama Administration that Representative Sestak was referring to.   This is where the legal problems lie.

If Representative Sestak was telling the truth, what was done is a crime.  It does fit the pattern of Chicago politics that seems to run through this administration, but I really doubt that it will be pursued (I would love to be wrong about that!).