NRSC

Who Is Telling The Truth?

As the White House refuses to answer questions surrounding U.S. Representative Joe Sestak’s (D-PA) claim that the Obama Administration offered him a federal job if he dropped out of the contentious Democrat primary in Pennsylvania, congressional leaders are demanding answers to what may constitute a federal crime.

According to Politico:

The top Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee says the Obama administration may have broken the law by offering Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) a job in order to persuade him not to mount a primary challenge against Sen. Arlen Specter.

Sestak has said that the administration offered him a high-ranking government job if he’d stay out of the race. White House press secretary Robert Gibbs has been asked repeatedly about the accusation in recent weeks but so far has neither confirmed nor denied that a job was offered.

But in a letter to White House general counsel Robert Bauer Wednesday, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said that, if Sestak’s allegation is true, administration officials may have violated a federal statute which makes it a crime for a government employee to use his authority “for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate” for certain offices, including Senate seats.

"While the White House may think this is politics as usual, what is spectacularly unusual is when a candidate — a U.S. congressman no less — freely acknowledges such a proposal,” Issa wrote. “Almost always candidates keep quiet about such deals, and for good reason — they are against the law."

Specter – the former Chairman of the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee – apparently agrees with Issa. During an interview with MSNBC this week, Specter said that Sestak’s accusations would constitute a federal crime. Click here to watch Specter’s comments.

Unfortunately, the details surrounding this situation thus far have been murky at best:

• On February 19, 2010, the Philadelphia Inquirer wrote that: “A White House spokesman… strongly denied an offer had been made to Sestak.”

• But shortly thereafter on March 1, 2010, it was reportedWhite House was “not ready to deny” Sestak’s claim that the White House offered him a “taxpayer-funded job if he wouldn’t run against Sen. Specter.” that the

• Three weeks after Sestak made the original charge, Fox News’ Major Garrett asked White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs again to during his briefing. According to Garrett, “Gibbs says he’s still checking.”

This isn’t the first time the White House has allegedly offered an administration job in exchange for a clear primary field. According to the Denver Post, shortly before former Colorado state Speaker Andrew Romanoff (D-CO) announced his primary bid against appointed U.S. Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions… Romanoff turned down the overture, which included mention of a job at USAID…”

“So which is it – did the White House break the law, or is Joe Sestak repeatedly lying about his assertion that the Obama Administration offered him a job if he dropped out of the race?” asked National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC) spokeswoman Amber Marchand. “Sestak’s own opponent, Arlen Specter, is now calling for answers. The people of Pennsylvania have a right to know why the White House has backpedaled on their initial denial, and why they are now refusing to address the question. Voters in the Keystone State deserve the truth.”