In the last week, it has been revealed that the Obama Administration "offered" Joe Sestak "a job" to drop out of the Democratic Primary in Pennsylvania. The question is, of course, is this an impeachable offense? President Obama has assured the Press and the American people that disclosure on the subject is coming very soon.
I am not one for blindly calling for the President's impeachment over every minor scandal; I resented the same when Bush was President. Therefore, instead of pointing at spurious things, let us look at the hard facts (at least the ones that are obtainable) and go from there.
Article II, Section 4 of the United States Constitution states:
The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.
Further, offering someone a job to drop out of a race is unquestionably illegal. Here's the law, which is USC 18, Section 600 (with added emphasis):
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.
The law is very specific, and if the Administration did this, it is very illegal. But does that mean that the President can be impeached?
It is unknown whether the President himself actually offered Sestak a job. If President Obama did not, then he cannot be impeached if he was unaware of what was going on. Likewise, if the President knew that the offering had occurred, but after the fact, he probably cannot be impeached. If the latter is the case, facts need to be uncovered about when the President found out and what he did about it.
The only way that President Obama committed an impeachable offense is if he himself directly offered Sestak a position, or if he himself told someone to do so.
The problem, however, is that what exactly occurred is unknown. Did Obama not know, did he spearhead it, or is this all a crazy misunderstanding? Until the disclosure that the President promises comes to fruition, nothing can move forward on the subject.
