Good catch by Byron York of the Washington Examiner. According to the New York Times, the job Bill Clinton reported offered Joe Sestak has requirements that Sestak couldn’t meet. In short, he was disqualified from the job he was offered.

While the White House never specified which advisory board he would be appointed to in exchange for dropping out of the race, Sestak himself recalls being offered a position on the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board. Sources for the Paper of Record say the same.

Over to you, Times:

The Board consists of not more than 16 members appointed by the President from among individuals who are not employed by the Federal Government. Members are distinguished citizens selected from the national security, political, academic, and private sectors.

Why is that requirement relevant? Over to you, official White House statement.

Uncompensated Advisory Board Options. We found that, as the Congressman has publicly and accurately stated, options for Executive Branch service were raised with him. Efforts were made in June and July of 2009 to determine whether Congressman Sestak would be interested in service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board, which would avoid a divisive Senate primary, allow him to retain his seat in the House, and provide him with an opportunity for additional service to the public in a high-level advisory capacity for which he was highly qualified. The advisory positions discussed with Congressman Sestak, while important to the work of the Administration, would have been uncompensated.

White House staff did not discuss these options with Congressman Sestak. The White House Chief of Staff enlisted the support of former President Clinton who agreed to raise with Congressman Sestak options of service on a Presidential or other Senior Executive Branch Advisory Board.

As much as we talk about members of Congress being employed by the American people, the legal reality is that their paycheck comes from the federal government.

The White House is claiming Sestak was offered a job on an advisory panel and he’d be able to keep his seat in the House. Except, according to the Times, you can’t be employed by the federal government and serve on the advisory panel in question. Sestak would’ve been ineligible for the job he was offered to give up his dreams of serving in the U.S. Senate.

Which brings us to a few options: 1) Sestak was being betrayed by the White House; 2) the White House was unaware of the requirement when it offered the job; or 3) We’re being lied to about the job that was offered.

Number one is a possibility. Number two is extremely unlikely, considering this was important enough to get Clinton involved. It seems one would check the requirement list at that point. Number three is the most probable answer.

Via Allahpundit/HAH.