It is only beginning to get real news media attention, but a Pennsylvania Democrat has made the troubling claim that the Obama administration offered him a job in return for giving up his quest for a U.S. Senate seat.
The candidate in question is U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak, who recently defeated Sen. Arlen Specter in the Democrat primary. The administration had endorsed Sen. Specter — though the president’s endorsement did not save Sen. Specter from defeat on primary day.
Rep. Sestak has made his accusation repeatedly. On NBC’s “Meet the Press,” for instance, host David Gregory raised the issue: “Yes or no, straightforward question. Were you, were you offered a job, and what was the job?” he asked.
Rep. Sestak replied, “I was offered a job, and I answered that.”
Unfortunately, he refuses to elaborate on who in the administration offered him a job, or what kind of job it was. That is disturbing, because if his allegations are true, they could be evidence of a serious crime.
The administration has stonewalled, too. This exchange took place on CBS’s “Face the Nation” recently:
“Lawyers in the White House and others have looked into conversations that were had with Congressman Sestak, and nothing inappropriate happened,” said White House press secretary Robert Gibbs.
“Improper or not, did you offer him a job in the administration?” host Bob Schieffer shot back.
“I’m not going to get further into what the conversations were,” said Mr. Gibbs.
But if they were aboveboard, why not discuss them openly? It is not only conservatives who want that. Besides liberal CBS and NBC, liberal papers such as The Philadelphia Inquirer are seeking answers, too.
Only very belatedly has the White House offered a defense. After weeks of evasion, it quietly sent out a memo Friday claiming former President Bill Clinton had offered Rep. Sestak an “unpaid” advisory post in the Obama administration if he would drop out of the Senate race. The administration defends that offer by noting that Mr. Clinton isn’t technically part of the administration. But that is a ridiculous word game. The White House admits, after all, that Mr. Obama’s staff authorized Mr. Clinton to make the offer.
It’s anyone’s guess whether we’re getting the truth. Does it all seem like “just politics” to you, or like something very close to bribery? Or both?