[media id=17017] C.R.E.W's Melanie Sloan joined Dylan Ratigan fill-in Eliot Spitzer to discuss whether there was anything illegal or improper about
May 29, 2010

C.R.E.W's Melanie Sloan joined Dylan Ratigan fill-in Eliot Spitzer to discuss whether there was anything illegal or improper about the White House offering Joe Sestak the advisers position. Sloan said there was nothing "even remotely close to the line" of the offer being illegal and that Darrell Issa is just trying to play politics and "dirty up" Joe Sestak so that Pat Toomey can get elected to the Senate in Pennsylvania.

Sloan: As you know as a former prosecutor Eliot, bribery is a tough case to prove. You need an official act in exchange for a thing of value. You just don't have that case here. Darrell Issa is really trying to make politics out of this all by screaming about it and calling it illegal, he thinks that suddenly it will become illegal, but that's just not the way the law works. This may look a little bad. This may have an appearance problem but there is simply nothing illegal here.

Spitzer agreed with Sloan that it's not illegal and didn't even think it looks bad. Issa joined the set immediately following Sloan and of course he still wants an investigation. Issa isn't going to be happy until he finds something to have impeachment hearings on. He tells Spitzer he just wants everything out in the open and that will be the end of it. Riiigghhhtt. Just like when you guys went after Bill Clinton, right Darrell?

He also tried to compare what happened here to Tom DeLay offering a fellow Republican help getting their son elected to office. Spitzer told him that's not the same since there was not the same quid pro quo there. That didn't seem to faze Issa. He's not going to stop with this until, as Melanie Sloan said, the media quits paying attention to him. With Fox around, that's not likely to happen any time soon.

Update: I'll add a bit of Digby's take on this.

Blame The Victim, Giggle Like Schoolgirls:

As far as this Sestak matter going away, I think MSNBC and the Politico is probably are probably good gauge of Village sentiment. Here's Eamon Javers on Andrea Mitchell's show.

...This reminds me of the Gore coverage. They justified their puerile attacks by saying he deserved what he got for being a stiff and boring poll who didn't parry the nonsense that the GOP freakshow was throwing at him and that disqualified him for the presidency. Hazing politicians on behalf of GOP operatives really should not be part of our political press coverage. It rewards the worst kind of politicians who have more "savvy" than integrity and perpetuates a political system that creates incentives to damage and destroy people on the basis of trivial nonsense, thus obscuring the very serious substance of their business. This really isn't a parlor game and politicians should not rise or fall based upon how they anticipate and deal with the GOPs mendacious machine, which is designed solely for the purpose of ruining their enemies.

She's talking about you Darrell Issa. Heaven forbid the Villagers can pass up an opportunity like this one to attack another Democratic President for nonsense. They shrugged their shoulders at the crimes of the Bush White House but they love this tabloid crap. I want to know when Darrell Issa is going to ask have Judd Gregg investigated as well. Go read the rest of Digby's post here.

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