Major Update II:

Here is the complete memo, with all its admissions and attempts to ‘every thing we offered Sestak was of no value’ – so why make the offer???  The offer and the desired result are clearly delineated in this passage:

The White House Chief of Staff enlisted the support of former President Bill Clinton who agreed to raise with Congressman Sestak options of service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board. Congressman Sestak declined the suggested alternatives, remaining committed to his Senate candidacy.

It doesn’t get any more damning than this. There was an offer to have him not run. The value of the offer is immaterial. The WH admits THEIR offers failed to have the desired, political result. Talk about incompetent, these guys can’t even spin right. This is an outright admission!

Major Update: Maybe Obama can do that “I am not a crook’ thing Nixon did so well, because the preliminary data dump proves an attempt was made to bribe the congressman out of the race:

The White House wanted to try and offer Sestak an uncompensated advisory board position that would allow him to retain his House seat and use his years of public service to benefit himself and the country.

So they tried to bribe him with a position where he could have more direct influence! Not all bribes require money, they only require personal benefit.  H/T Ed Morrissey

Update: Ed Morrissey has the latest BS – the offer was for an unpaid job??  Who are these people kidding! Something big is about to blow in DC

Addendum: Some of us bloggers are talking about how the media is ignoring Sestakgate, so let me try and set the stage for this stunner:

Think of it. Two democrat presidents conspiring to bribe a US congressman out of a US senate race. Is that not news? Moreover, the sitting president’s spin doctors admit the former president knowingly participated in the act! Who could resist this story? – end update

What is stunning about the news that the White House now is admitting to offering Rep Sestak a job in the administration is how they are trying to show how carefully crafted the effort was, therefore innocent. Sadly for them, all this careful crafting clearly indicates they knew they were doing something felonious:

Senior White House advisers asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about whether he was serious about running for Senate, and to feel out whether he’d be open to other alternatives, according to sources familiar with the situation.

But the White House maintains that the Clinton-Sestak discussions were informal, according to the sources. The White House, under pressure to divulge the specifics of its interactions with Sestak, will release a formal statement later today outlining their version of events, including Clinton’s involvement.

According to the sources, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asked Clinton and his longtime adviser, lawyer Doug Band, to talk to Sestak about the race. It’s unclear right now whether the White House will say that Clinton was asked to suggest specific administration positions for Sestak, whether Clinton floated positions on his own, whether Clinton discussed other options not related to the adminstration, or whether employment even came up at all in the talks.

So, they were ‘informal’ but required the careful hand of a former President and a lawyer??? Who are they kidding? First off, the admit to offering positions. Whether Slick Willie floated a specific position or not is irrelevant. They could have offered Sestak the job of head groundskeeper and the offer would still have been a felony. And that is because the job was in return for a political favor.

This truly is Sestakgate – the act that could take down the presidency. And what about Bill Clinton? He knows damn well he was enabling an illegal action. He was a conspirator acting in the felony! He’s in a ton of hot water right now, and it seems team Obama has put him out to dry!

Tags: Clinton, Emanuel, Obama, Sestakgate