catwho wrote:
It's not a felony unless the job comes with a salary.
Doesn't matter actually. Offering someone *anything* in order to induce them to change their decisions politically is a crime. And yes. This does happen all the time. The difference is that as long as neither the offerer or the offeree go out and say publicly that there was a quid-pro-quo deal cut, no one actually does anything about it.
That's the difference here. Sestak, either because of honest bitterness about it, or naive ignorance of the legal consequences, made public allegations that he was offered a job to drop out of the primary. That's why this is a big deal. We all sit here and assume that when someone shows up at the White House, has a talk with the folks there, and then changes course politically, and a few months later gets a job, or a favor, or sits on a board, or whatever, that there was a deal cut. Everyone knows this. But you can't charge anyone with a crime unless you can prove it and so no one investigates it.
Sestak has put himself in a tough spot because now that he's made public statements to that effect, he may be subjected to charges if he changes his statement as well. From what I've heard, that may just be a misdemeanor offense though. It's going to depend if he's willing to effectively flush his career down the toilet by claiming he made a false allegation during the primary campaign, or if he's willing to effectively flush his career as a Democrat down the toilet by sticking to his story and potentially getting a former President and a senior staff member or three of the White House indicted.
Quote:
The main reason Obama wanted Sestak to drop out wasn't to protect Specter, it was to protect the Dem majority in the House. Sestaks House seat is in a purple district, and that district is probably going to have a special election to replace Sestak if he wins the Senate race. There's a very real risk that the GOP will win that seat.
Why would they offer him a position in the White House then? That doesn't keep him in the Congressional seat either...
What's so funny about this is that it's the fallout of another deal they cut. They wanted a super majority in the Senate, and Specter was willing to jump ship. Presumably, part of that deal was the Dem party support for him running as a Dem in the future. Obviously, that's speculation, but I think it's pretty darn safe speculation. So this deal attempt was a fall out from that deal. And no matter what happens with Sestak, it looks like the whole deal has pretty much blown up in their faces.
Good thing they're going to be an administration of transparency and end the culture of corruption plaguing Washington! They sure seem to be doing a bang up job of that...