Republicans want special prosecutor in Joe Sestak case
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- GOPers are calling for an investigation into whether the White House offered a job to Sestak to drop out of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary. Associated Press">AP Photo
POLITICO 44
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have asked Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate allegations that the White House offered a job to Rep. Joe Sestak to drop out of the Pennsylvania Democratic Senate primary.
The Republicans, led by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.), ranking member of the panel, sent a letter to Holder on Wednesday, asking the Justice Department to investigate the Sestak claim and determine whether a crime was committed. House Republicans have made a similar request, and were rebuffed by Justice.
Sestak, a Democrat, defeated incumbent Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) last week for the party's Senate nomination. Since then, Sestak has continually deflected questions on who offered him what job in the Obama administration, although he has repeatedly confirmed that the incident did occur.
Seeking a chance to pick up the Pennsylvania Senate seat, Republicans have pressed both Sestak and the White House to provide more information on the incident, which took place sometime in mid-2009, according to Sestak.
The Justice Department has already rejected a call from Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), ranking member of the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, to appoint a special counsel to investigate the Sestak incident.
Issa has also threatened to file a complaint with House ethics committee against Sestak if the Pennsylvania Democrat declines to offer more information on what occurred and who made the job offer. Sestak has repeatedly declined to identify the White House official.
Senate Judiciary Republicans, in their letter to Holder, said that that if Sestak were telling the truth about the job offer, it could “suggest a possible violation of various federal criminal laws intended to safeguard our political process from the taint of bribes and political machine manipulation.”
The GOP lawmakers also claim the White House cannot adequately investigate while simultaneously denying the incident occured.
Calls are increasing for Sestak to come clean about who in the White House offered him what job.
Pennsylvania’s Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell, originally a Specter supporter, said Wednesday that the White House and Sestak should provide more information on what happened. Rendell joins some other Democrats, including Senatge Majority Whip Dick Durbin (Ill.), on pressing Sestak to open up about the incident.
“I think both he and the White House should tell people a little more clearly what happened and then put it behind them,” Rendell told POLITICO.
Rendell said did not believe having someone in the White House offer Sestak a job was a violation of federal law or ethics rules.
“Stuff like this has been going on for time immemorial,” Rendell added. Rendell said he told former Rep. Joe Hoeffel (D-Pa.) not to run against GOP Sen. Rick Santorum in 2006, which helped Democrat Bob Casey. Casey went on to beat Santorum in Nov. 2006.
“I did it when Joe Hoeffel was considering running for Senate in the Democratic primary against Bob Casey,” Rendell said.
“I called Joe, and I said, ‘Joe, the polls show that Casey has a better chance to win. If you run against him in the primary, it will suck money away, and Santorum is gonna have lots of money. I’d like you not to run and I love what you’ve done governmentally, and if you want to stay in government, I’m sure that we can find something that can challenge you in state government.’ That’s not against the law, and it’s been done by Republicans and Democrats for time immemorial. They [the White House and Sestak] should say what happened and move on.”
Readers' Comments (80)
redhawk1 Party: Conservative
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May. 26, 2010 - 2:44 PM EST
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Read all 80 comments in our forumHolder rather Hide under a toilet seat for this one, just like he did on the Black Panther case, Acorn, and Speaking without Facts at hand over the AZ Immigration law... Holder is a MORON!
Obama should be facing the same charges as Blago. They both crawled out of the corrupt Chicago political cesspool.
Obama should be facing the same charges as Blago. They both crawled out of the corrupt Chicago political cesspool.
Obama should be facing the same charges as Blago. They both crawled out of the corrupt Chicago political cesspool.
Way to address the nation's problems GOP! That's what we're paying you for, and your staff, and your offices, and your health care, and your franking...
Ha, dont like this story huh? Well too bad, either Sestak told a lie or someone in the white house committed a felony. One way or another the truth will come out or the GOP will use this issue to club the Democrats with..... I mean werent the dems going to drain the swamp of corruption?
I'm betting Sestak was offered a job and he just made up the bit about the offer only being good if he dropped out of the race. Politicians like to blow things out of proportion if they think it will help them politically.
Though I would have no problem with someone investigating this. If something shady did go down, then the people involved need to be charged, even if one of those people was (were?) Obama.
Typical Illinois politics. I can't wait until everything comes out in the Blago trial. We might find some really slimy creatures coming out from under the overturned rocks. Many of them are residing in Washington D.C. right now.
Let's vote every last one of them out - dem or republican and start over. Vote in term limits and let's take back our country. Our founding fathers had more sense and more courage and wisdom than anyone in our government now.
Sestak is a former admiral if I remember correctly. As such, his honesty may have got him caught in the midst of Chicago politics. If I were a betting man, I'd bet he did get offered a job if he dropped out of the race, and that the person that offered him the deal never in their wildest dreams thought he would fess up to it and blow everyone's cover. What sestack needs to do now is tell all and let the thugs fall as they may - afterall, he didn't take the offer.
Has anyone really heard what went on in AF1 with kucinnich? What about the die hards that were against the healthcare bill's abortion coverage until all of a sudden they weren't any longer? No details on those payoff's either. Just chicago politics at its worst.
This is a cover-up of a felony by Obama himself or someone in his inner circle. Where is the press ??? Being from Chicago is not a legitimate excuse for breaking the law.
Holder the African nationalist is not going to investigate or prosecute anybody in the democrat party, no matter what they do. He could be shown a video of a democrat politician robbing a 7-11 store, and his attitude would be, "well, the video is just politically motivated by the racist republicans."
That was his attitude toward the black panther thugs at a polling place. That was a chilling little preview of Barack Obama's America
He and Robert Mugabe in Zimbabwe along with good 'ol Donna Brazile all agree on "we ain't gonna let the white boys win".
The republicans might as well write a letter to Kim Jong Il, asking him to be nice.
Then I guess they should have prosecuted Reagan in 1981:
http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19811126&id=ibcsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HhQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5060,5317656
' title='http://news.google.com/newspapers?nid=1454&dat=19811126&id=ibcsAAAAIBAJ&sjid=HhQEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5060,5317656
'>http://news.google.com/news...
Holder is not about to do that unless Obozo tells him to whicj=h is not too likely.
The link to the 1981 news article does not seem to work, so here's the first paragraph:
"Sen. Hayawaki Wednesday spurned a Reagan administration suggestion that if he drops out of the crowded Rep Senate primary in California, Pres Reagan would find him a job. . . . "
This is the type of crap republicans will waste time on if they regain any control. Never mind the near depression their ideology caused, never mind the numerous problems this country is facing, this hooey is first and foremost to republicans. American public, take a number, the gop has to score political points.
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
It's been branded a felony by some republicans, but legal experts agree it is not against the law at all (including republican legal experts). Do some research. It's purely a politcal ploy to impugn Obama, a very common thing to do nowadays, it seems.
Sestak is not guilty of breaking any laws (at this point). He is going to have to say, WHO offered him the position TO NOT RUN. This is the felony, and you can bet your bippy it came from Obama. Someone is going to have to take the bullet for Obama. Ha HA... It is Transparently clear what happened here.
Oh Obama haters, sorry to rain on your vitriol, but you won't be nailin' the president...I know you have an inborn adversion to facts, but...
On March 27, 2009, the administration nominated Ray Mabus as secretary of the Navy. It wasn't until April 28 that Specter became a Democrat, and by Sestak's own recollection, he was literally being courted to run the day that news broke. On May 18, the Senate confirmed Mabus. And on May 29, Sestak entered the Senate race.
It's pretty clear that if Sestak was offered a job, it wasn't secretary of the Navy.
http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/05/sestak_couldnt_have_been_nomin.html
' title='http://voices.washingtonpost.com/right-now/2010/05/sestak_couldnt_have_been_nomin.html
'>http://voices.washingtonpos...
Yes, Americans want answers. The DOJ must accept the GOP's request. The press must continue asking questions. Obama and Gibbs think that Americans and the press will forget about this issue very soon and will not ask questions about it. NO NO NO NO NO, Obama and Gibbs. You are wrong on this one. WE WANT ANSWERS NOW OBAMA. NOW.