President Obama insisted Thursday there was "nothing improper" about White House contacts with Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak, who has asserted a White House official offered him an administration job if he dropped his primary challenge for Democrat Arlen Specter's Senate seat in Pennsylvania."I can assure the public nothing improper took place," Mr. Obama said in his first public comments on the incident, speaking near the end of an hourlong press conference at the White House. Choosing his words carefully, Mr. Obama declined to elaborate on his answer, saying White House lawyers were preparing a fuller response that would be released "shortly, [and] I don't mean weeks or months."
Mr. Sestak, a former Navy admiral, made the assertion about a "high-ranking" job offer at least twice - once to a local cable television interviewer Feb. 18 and again after his primary win on Sunday. He has steadfastly declined to say who approached him and which job was discussed. However, Mr. Sestak has said he would cooperate in any investigation.
California Rep. Darrell Issa, ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, said he was not satisfied with the response so far by Mr. Obama and others on the Sestak-Specter affair.
He said the White House needs to answer the question: Was Mr. Sestak offered a job in return for getting out of the race?
Can't the One say, "Not by me, and I will fire anyone who did"? Probably not.
He can't afford to lose Axelrod ...
"Partial answers will only lead to more questions," said Mr. Issa, who has asked the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to the case, a request the department has refused. Republican National Committee Chairman Michael S. Steele echoed Mr. Issa's sentiment. "The silence is rapidly becoming deafening. How many days are needed and how many hours of negotiations between Joe Sestak and the Obama administration are required to simply tell the truth?"
On Wednesday, Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, a Democrat who supported Mr. Specter, said the White House and Mr. Sestak should be as transparent as possible and that trying to "stonewall" will only make the situation "fester" and only add to the pressure to appoint a special prosecutor. "People are going to interpret this worse than it probably is," he told Fox News. "I do not believe that anybody in the White House was crazy enough to say, 'You can have this specific job if you withdraw.' "
On the other hand, no one seems to be able to categorically deny it.