Messina's history of primary meddling and bribery

As we've reported, Rep. Joe Sestak of Pennsylvania, locked in a heated Democratic primary with White House tool Arlen Specter, has alleged that the Obama Administration tried to bribe him. According to Sestak, Obama's henchmen offered him a high-ranking post in the administration if he dropped his primary challenge to Specter. Many have speculated that the position was Secretary of the Navy, as Sestak is a former admiral. White House press flack Robert Gibbs has refused to deny the allegations on four separate occasions.

We've been wondering for weeks: Who made the bribe? Sestak is almost certainly telling the truth, so who's the culprit? Rahm Emanuel and Patrick Gaspard are likely suspects, but another name has emerged today: Jim Messina. Messina is Obama's deputy chief of staff -- and he has a history of this sort of corruption.

From the September 27, 2009 edition of the Denver Post:

Not long after news leaked last month that Andrew Romanoff was determined to make a Democratic primary run against Sen. Michael Bennet, Romanoff received an unexpected communication from one of the most powerful men in Washington.

Jim Messina, President Barack Obama's deputy chief of staff and a storied fixer in the White House political shop, suggested a place for Romanoff might be found in the administration and offered specific suggestions, according to several sources who described the communication to The Denver Post.

Romanoff turned down the overture, which included mention of a job at USAID, the foreign aid agency, sources said.

Then, the day after Romanoff formally announced his Senate bid, Obama endorsed Bennet.

Romanoff was the Colorado Speaker of the House at the time. The Denver Post spends the rest of the article arguing that such bribery is commonplace in Washington. But that's simply not the case. Even with political mastermind Karl Rove at the helm, George W. Bush's administration never offered anyone a job in exchange for dropping out of a race. Further, according to U.S. Code 18, Section 595, someone who “uses his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate of the District of Columbia or Resident Commissioner, shall be fined under the title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” This is criminal activity.

Messina is essentially Rahm Jr. -- he shares his boss' love of profanity and Machiavellian political tactics. But he's also far less visible than Emanuel, shunning the press and preferring privacy. He seems like the perfect choice to bribe a bothersome Democrat politician.

Rep. Darrell Issa, Republican of California, is threatening to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate the Sestak flap. If he succeeds, one of Obama's top political henchmen could find himself facing criminal charges.

Obama pulls the SEIU's strings in Pennsylvania

The SEIU endorsed Arlen Specter over Joe Sestak in the Pennsylvania Senate Democratic primary today.

"SEIU fights for its members so we have a natural kinship with Senator Specter who is well known as a fighter for Pennsylvania," said Eileen Connelly, Executive Director for the SEIU PA State Council. "He's been there for us and now we are proud to be here for him. We have close to 100,000 SEIU members in PA and we are ready to play our part in making sure Senator Specter stays in the US Senate so he can keep working on behalf of Pennsylvania families".

Neal Bisno, President of SEIU Healthcare PA representing 22,000 healthcare workers across the State said: "Senator Specter's key vote for the Economic Recovery Act has provided billions for Pennsylvania. Those funds have helped keep thousands of our members on the job and thus able to help our communities care for those in need."

Specter did vote for the stimulus, but the SEIU doesn't have a "natural kinship" with him. Specter is opposed to Card Check, the Holy Grail of union legislation. His position didn't go unnoticed. Last year SEIU president Andy Stern met with Sestak to test the waters. And yet the mega-union still endorsed Specter, the former Republican. Sestak, meanwhile, was a co-sponsor of Card Check legislation in the House of Representatives and is more progressive on almost every issue than Specter.

The White House has been vociferous in its support of Specter, to the point that Sestak has accused them of trying to bribe him out of the primary race. Even though Sestak was by far a more natural ally for the SEIU, Obama likely leaned on Andy Stern to throw his support to Specter. It's getting to the point where the SEIU seems like little more than an activist political arm of the Obama Administration.

Robert Gibbs essentially confirms Obama tried to bribe Joe Sestak

Rep. Joe Sestak is locked up in a tight Democratic Senate primary race in Pennsylvania with White House ally Arlen Specter. Sestak has claimed that the White House tried to bribe him to drop out of the primary by offering him a high-profile job. White House press flack Robert Gibbs refused to comment on Sestak's accusation on three different occasions, claiming he was still gathering the facts. At yesterday's press conference, he got slightly more specific.

“I’ve talked to several people in the White House. I’ve talked to people who have talked to others in the White House,” Gibbs said in response to a question from liberal commentator Bill Press. “I’m told that whatever conversations have been had, are not problematic. I think Congressman Sestak has discussed that this is – whatever happened is in the past and he is focused on this primary.”

CNSNews.com followed up asking if the White House counsel looked into whether the matter was legal. Gibbs responded, “I would refer you to my previous comment.”

Fox News reporter Wendell Goler followed up, “Sestak still says he was offered something.”

Gibbs responded again, “I would repeat what I just said.”

If Sestak were lying, the White House would have nothing to lose and everything to gain by denying his claim. Sestak is unlikely to win the primary and has already positioned himself against Obama by running against White House darling Specter. Instead the only denial has come from an anonymous White House official who spoke to the Philadelphia Inquirer. Nobody will put their name to refuting Sestak's claim, even though the president's honor has been attacked here. There's a general rule in Washington: Whenever someone issues the sort of weasel-worded statement that Gibbs just did, using vague adjectives like "problematic", they're covering something up.

According to U.S. Code 18, Section 595, someone who “uses his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate of the District of Columbia or Resident Commissioner, shall be fined under the title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.” The stakes are high here. Republicans are circling and Specter himself has already said that, if Sestak's claim is true, the White House committed a crime. Whoever Obama makes take the fall for this could potentially spend a year in prison.

White House officials facing prison time over Sestak bribe?

Last week, Pennsylvania Democrat Joe Sestak claimed that the White House had offered him a top position in the government if he would drop out of his Senate race. Sestak is locked in a brutal primary against White House ally Arlen Specter, who Obama coaxed over from the Republican Party. Now two members of Congress have expressed concern that the White House may have committed a crime.

[Senator Arlen] Specter said [on MSNBC], “There is a specific federal statute, which makes it a bribe to make an offer for a public office. When I was district attorney, if somebody came and told me that, I would say, well, name names. Name dates. Name places. That’s a very serious charge. It’s a big black smear without specification. I’m telling you there is a federal crime, punishable by jail. Anybody who wants to say that ought to back it up.

Congressman Sestak has gotten a lot of political mileage out of that. It’s really an attack on the administration.”

...

Meanwhile, Rep. [Darrell] Issa wrote a letter on Wednesday to White House Counsel Robert Bauer citing U.S. Code 18, Sections 211, 595, and 600 regarding the bribery of a public official. Section 595 says someone who “uses his official authority for the purpose of interfering with, or affecting, the nomination or the election of any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate of the District of Columbia or Resident Commissioner, shall be fined under the title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.”

Whoever made this bribe, likely someone high up in the administration, could go to prison for a year if convicted. The guilty party was likely one of the president's political advisors. Patrick Gaspard seems too clever and elusive to stick his neck out like this. Rahm Emanuel is the main suspect, but Valerie Jarrett and David Plouffe are also possibilities. It's also improbable that the briber was acting without the express permission of Obama, although the president will undoubtedly claim ignorance and let someone else take the fall.

Should we believe Sestak? The only denial of his claims by the administration thus far have been from a single anonymous official. Robert Gibbs has ducked the question three times. If no one is willing to attach their name to this, it's hard to believe they have nothing to hide. It's also hard to believe Sestak, a former Navy admiral, would want to make enemies at the White House before he even entered the Senate.

Obama's 2010 strategy: Bribe your way to victory

Kickbacks galore this morning! Republicans are smelling blood in Pennsylvania in 2010, where a Senate primary battle is raging between Democrats Arlen Specter and Joe Sestak. Arlen Specter is the incumbent and former Republican who White House operatives lured to the Democrat side after it looked like he might lose the GOP primary. Specter is now facing a less dangerous, but still potent, primary threat from the Democrat Sestak.

That's not going to sit well with Obama, who wants to control the political landscape. According to Sestak, the White House offered him a high-ranking job if he dropped his challenge to Specter. Sestak refused to name the job specifically, but many believe it was Secretary of the Navy. You do this for us and we'll make sure we take care of you. Since Sestak revealed the noxious bribe, Robert Gibbs has twice refused to deny that what Sestak said was true. An anonymous White House official "vociferously" denied Sestak's claim to the Philadelphia Inquirer, but it's easy to lie when you don't put your name to it.

Sestak should watch himself. This White House doesn't usually ask nicely. Just look at what happened to Harold Ford in New York today, "bullied" out of the race by Democratic henchmen. Then again, Sestak probably doesn't scare easily. He's a highly decorated former vice admiral and tenacious congressman. Obama may have picked a fight with the wrong guy.