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Referring to the claim by Rep. Joe Sestak, D-Penn., that a White House official offered him a high-ranking administration position if he agreed to not challenge Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Penn., in the Democratic primary, President Obama told reporters today that “there will be an official response shortly on the Sestak issue which I hope will answer your questions."
Republicans have been making hay about the claim, which the White House has refused to detail. Yesterday all seven Senate Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Attorney General Eric Holder to make sure the charge is independently investigated.
The president said that the response about what happened would come "from my administration" and he said it would come "shortly. I don't mean weeks or months."
He said he could "assure the public that nothing improper took place."
White House counsel Bob Bauer and his office have been looking into the charge. The response will likely take the form of a memo from Bauer explaining how what happened was not illegal or unethical. You can be forgiven for suspecting that it may be released during traditional "document dump" periods — Friday afternoon or during the weekend.
–Jake Tapper