Democrat senatorial candidate and sitting Congressman Joe Sestak (D, Pa.) has repeatedly confirmed that he was offered a government position by the Obama Administration in exchange for withdrawing from his eventually successful race against incumbent Senator Arlen Specter for his party’s nomination for the U.S. Senate.
When asked about the alleged bribe, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs has just as repeatedly claimed to have no knowledge of any such offer made to Sestak.
Title 18, United States Code (USC) Section 211, entitled “Acceptance or solicitation to obtain appointive public office,” reads as follows:Whoever solicits or receives, either as a political contribution, or for personal emolument, any money or thing of value, in consideration of the promise of support or use of influence in obtaining for any person any appointive office or place under the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.
Whoever solicits or receives any thing of value in consideration of aiding a person to obtain employment under the United States either by referring his name to an executive department or agency of the United States or by requiring the payment of a fee because such person has secured such employment shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than one year, or both. This section shall not apply to such services rendered by an employment agency pursuant to the written request of an executive department or agency of the United States.Also, the alleged bribe of Sestak may also have violated Federal Campaign Election Laws, specifically section 600 on page 127 which reads:
§ 600. Promise of employment or other benefit for political activity
Whoever, directly or indirectly, promises any employment, position, compensation, contract, appointment, or other benefit, provided for or made possible in whole or in part by any Act of Congress, or any special consideration in obtaining any such benefit, to any person as consideration, favor, or reward for any political activity or for the support of or opposition to any candidate or any political party in connection with any general or special election to any political office, or in connection with any primary election or political convention or caucus held to select candidates for any political office, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.During the Bush administration, the MSM offered full-throated support and continuous coverage of Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s four-years (2003-2007) investigation of the outing of CIA employee Valerie Plame that ended with the March 2007 conviction of Lewis “Scooter” Libby for obstruction of justice, making false statements, and two counts of perjury.
Is the alleged effort to bribe a United States Congressman to influence a senatorial election any less serious a crime? So where’s the MSM’s call for a Special Counsel to investigate Sestak’s allegation?
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