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Politics : The Obama - Clinton Disaster -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: GROUND ZERO™ who wrote (30899)	5/28/2010 2:31:43 PM
From: DuckTapeSunroof	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 103300

White House asked Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about Senate run By Michael D. Shear and Philip Rucker Washington Post staff writers Friday, May 28, 2010; 12:58 PM washingtonpost.com At the urging of the Obama White House, former President Bill Clinton asked Rep. Joe Sestak whether he would abandon his plans to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter in a Pennsylvania Democratic primary if given an unpaid, advisory position, according to a White House counsel report issued Friday morning. Clinton made the inquiries on behalf of Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel last summer, as Sestak began his challenge of Specter, a former Republican who had switched parties, White House Counsel Bob Bauer wrote. Obama publicly backed Specter's reelection bid over Sestak, who remained in the primary and defeated the veteran senator this month. Bauer concluded that nothing improper had taken place and that "allegations of improper conduct rest on factual errors and lack a basis in the law." Contrary to allegations by many conservative pundits, Bauer found that Sestak had not been offered the position of secretary of the Navy. Bauer concluded that discussions about "alternatives" to a Senate campaign by Sestake were proper. "The Democratic Party leadership had a legitimate interest in averting a divisive primary fight and a similarly legitimate concern about the Congressman vacating his seat in the House," Bauer wrote. "There have been numerous, reported instances in the past when prior Administrations -- both Democratic and Republican, and motivated by the same goals -- discussed alternative paths to service. . . . Such discussions are fully consistent with the relevant law and ethical requirements." Sestak declined to answer questions about White House revelations involving Clinton and Emanuel. "I'll have something for you later," he told reporters while entering the House chamber Friday. Questions about a job offer first arose during the primary campaign early this year, when Sestak said publicly that someone in the Obama White House had offered him a job. Despite repeated questioning from reporters, Sestak refused to disclose what job was offered or by whom. The White House also remained tight-lipped about the incident for months, with press secretary Robert Gibbs saying only that officials inside the administration had reviewed the situation and determined that nothing illegal had occurred. But that didn't satisfy Obama critics, who insisted for months that the White House provide a more complete answer. Moments after the report's release, the top Republican on the House's lead investigative committee renewed his call for an independent criminal investigation of the White House's offer of an administration post to Sestak. Rep. Darrell Issa (Calif.), the top Republican on the House oversight committee, called it a "trial balloon" for the White House to admit that Clinton had been dispatched to discuss Sestak's interest in a Pentagon advisory post if he dropped out of the Senate primary. Issa said the "offering of something of value, monetary or otherwise" could constitute a crime, and he called for Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to launch an independent investigation. "Who sent the president there? What was the conversation between Rahm and President Clinton," Issa said. To date, Holder has resisted calls from Issa and Senate Republicans on the Judiciary Committee to open a formal inquiry. Clinton would seem like a natural choice to reach out to Sestak. He has long admired Sestak, who was a top defense official in the Clinton administration. From 1994 to 1997, he was a senior National Security Council aide, where he was responsible for the White House's national security and defense strategy. Clinton supported Sestak's first congressional campaign in 2006, and when Hillary Rodham Clinton ran for president in 2008, Sestak was an early endorser. Sestak has said that Bill Clinton counseled him as he considered running for the Senate. After Sestak entered a primary race against Specter, a 30-year incumbent who had recently switched parties, Bill Clinton was one of the few prominent Democrats not to endorse in the race. Clinton also has a positive relationship with Specter, who was an ally during his administration and one of the few Republicans not to vote for Clinton's impeachment. When Sestak toppled Specter in the Democratic primary earlier this month, Clinton was one of the first to call to congratulate him and pledged his full support in the general election campaign. The White House political shop -- including Emanuel, deputy chief of staff Jim Messina and political director Patrick Gaspard -- have attempted over the past year to remove candidates they consider weak from Democratic primary contests. In New York, Gaspard tried to persuade embattled Gov. David Paterson to drop out of the 2010 gubernatorial campaign. Paterson initially balked, but eventually, once his administration became enveloped by scandal, announced he would not run. And in Colorado, former state House speaker Andrew Romanoff has said that Messina offered him an administration job if he dropped out of his primary campaign against Sen. Michael Bennet. One of the alleged offers was at USAID, the foreign aid agency, according to local news reports. But Romanoff announced his candidacy anyway.