Joe Sestak
In a letter to congressional Republicans last week, the Justice Department said it would not appoint a special counsel to look into allegations that the White House promised Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) a job in the administration if he agreed not to challenge Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.), Politico reported.
The letter — dated Friday and written by Assistant Attorney General Ronald Weich — was addressed to Rep. Darrell Issa, the ranking Republican on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee.
Sestak has said repeatedly that the White House promised it would give him a job if he did not challenge Specter in the Democratic primary for Senate. Specter, a long-time Senate Judiciary Committee member, switched to the Democratic party last year in an attempt to salvage his political career. Last week, Specter, 80, lost in the primary to Sestak.
Sestak has declined to provide any more information on what the job was or who allegedly offered it. The White House has not denied a discussion took place, but spokesman Robert Gibbs maintains that nothing inappropriate occurred.
Issa has repeatedly bashed the White House for declining to provide more information on the alleged job offer and in April, he urged the Justice Department to appoint a special prosecutor to look into the allegations.
“We assure you that the Department of Justice takes very seriously allegations of criminal conduct by public officials. All such matters are reviewed carefully by career prosecutors and law enforcement agents, and appropriate action, if warranted, is taken,” Weich wrote in the letter Friday. “The Department of Justice, however, has a long history of handling investigations of high-level officials professionally and independently, without the need to appoint a special counsel.”
