Clinton Offered Sestak Job With Obama
The White House confirms Bill Clinton offered Joe Sestak an unpaid job in the Obama administration if Sestak dropped his Senate campaign and remained in the House.
The Washington Post first broke the story on Friday morning, which the White House confirmed in a two-page memo.
“As the Congressman has publicly and accurately stated, options for Executive Branch service were raised with him,” White House Robert Bauer wrote. “Efforts were made in June and July of 2009 to determined whether Congressman Sestak would be interested in service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board, which would avoid a divisive Senate primary, allow him to retain his seat in the House, and provide him with an opportunity for additional service to the public in a high-level advisory capacity for which he was highly qualified.”
The Post cited numerous sources and said former Clinton aide Rahm Emanuel, who is now White House chief of staff, went to Clinton and asked Clinton and his longtime adviser, lawyer Doug Band, to speak with Sestak.
The talk happened last summer.
The position offered by the White House was reportedly an appointment to the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board, which provides independent oversight.
Later on Friday, Sestak issued his own statement:
"Last summer, I received a phone call from President Clinton. During the course of the conversation, he expressed concern over my prospects if I were to enter the Democratic primary for U.S. Senate and the value of having me stay in the House of Representatives because of my military background. He said that White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel had spoken with him about my being on a Presidential Board while remaining in the House of Representatives. I said no. I told President Clinton that my only consideration in getting into the Senate race or not was whether it was the right thing to do for Pennsylvania working families and not any offer. The former President said he knew I'd say that, and the conversation moved on to other subjects.
There are many important challenges facing Pennsylvania and the rest of the country. I intend to remain focused on those issues and continue my fight on behalf of working families."
Sestak defeated Sen. Arlen Specter in the Pennsylvania Democratic primary earlier in May.