Rahm Emanuel, Bill Clinton, Joe Sestak's charge and the Obama White House. You can be of two minds, now, with the news that Bill Clinton was dispatched to visit Joe Sestak, to speak about options, as they relate to his bid to unseat Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Senate primary. The first could be that nothing good can come from involving a former President to act as a go-between, for the White House, to dangle some kind of inducement in front of a Senate candidate, in the hopes of dissuading him from running against a preferred candidate of the current administration. The second, is that what we may see, as the end result of this four month long dust up between Sestak and the White House, where the initial charge by Sestak was that he was offered a job by someone in the Administration, to abandon his campaign for Senate - is one of the slickest maneuvers to side-step a potential scandal, by the Obama administration. One that could have resulted in real, legal problems, should the statements made by Sestak were able to be proven, as true.
What we have now, after months of nothingness from White House spokesman, Robert Gibbs, when continually pressed for something that answered Sestak's claim - and more recently, President Obama's promise, when questioned about it, during his annual press conference, that there would be a statement issued soon, in response.
Well, the statement is out, in the form of a memorandum, issued by White House Counsel, Robert F. Bauer. And, as I write this...Joe Sestak has issued his own statement on the WH memo. In the memo, the key issues covered are 1. The paid position of Secretary of the Navy was not offered to Sestak in exchange for his dropping out of the primary. 2. That uncompensated advisory board options for Executive Branch service, were discussed that would enable Sestak to remain in Congress and would have the added benefit of avoiding a divisive senate primary race within the Democrat Party. And, 3. That the White House staff didn't discuss these options with Congressman Sestak but that, Bill Clinton was enlisted by Chief of Staff Emanuel to raise these options with Sestak. So, the King Maker had the Lyin' King do the talking for the White House. And in the events leading up to this memo's release were, Obama having a dicussion with Clinton, before his annual press conference. The White House talking to Joe Sestak's Brother and campaign manager, Richard Sestak, about the job offer allegations. Also, purportedly, Sestak himself was cooperating with the White House in preparation of the memo's release. So, a cooperated effort by all, to bury deep, any possible smoking gun that might hurt the Administration.
Though some continued help will be required to keep the smoking gun from ever going off and shooting the Obama Administration in the foot. That help will need to come from the Democrats in Congress, to continue to keep issuing a pass to this administration, for holding itself up to any of the lofty standards that candidate Obama pledged and has continued to pay lip service to, as President. Because, it seems that White House Counsel Bauer has only negotiated down, from felony, to misdemeanor, in highlighting the fact that no compensated position was offered to Sestak...only advisory positions, within the Executive Branch.
In showing in the memo that the position of Secretary of Navy or any other compensated position was offered - Counsel showed that there wasn't a violation of US Code 18 USC 600 . By the most technical sense, even though Clinton is no longer employed by the govenment of the United States but, if you extend it back to Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel...a misdemeanor might have occurred under US Code 18 USC 595.
However, don't count on anything ever going forward, in a legal sense, by anyone in Congress. The pungent aroma that surrounds this whole issue is that - for one, if things shook out as the memo and now, Sestak contends...what was Sestak's problem in just expounding on his initial claim, if it was the same as this memo contends. He went as far as to not dispel the insinuation, when questioned, that the position offered was Secretary of the Navy. Not to mention the months-long stonewalling by the White House in answering these questions. And the apparent coordination of all parties concerned in the preparing the release of this memo. Or, at least, the appearance of everyone getting their stories straight.
It's just all a little fishy and more evidence that this Administration is just more of the same, as it goes, in the world of shady politics. Counter to what Obama held himself up to be, His Administration is unfolding as one of the least transparent, least concerned about honesty and forthrightness and waaaay more about them, then us, then any other administration in memory.
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