Special Friday (late pm) redirect

Greg Sargent of the WaPo‘s Plum Line notes that the White House is floating out there that Bill Clinton was sent to speak to Joe Sestak (who defeated Arlen Specter in the D primary for US Senate) about “other options.” Floating Bill Clinton’s name on Friday morning while saying that they might be saying something else later in a Friday pm… Friday pm on Memorial Day weekend… strikes me as synonymous with: Guys, there is a bad story we are trying to redirect.

Senior White House advisers asked former President Bill Clinton to talk to Joe Sestak about whether he was serious about running for Senate, and to feel out whether he’d be open to other alternatives, according to sources familiar with the situation.

But the White House maintains that the Clinton-Sestak discussions were informal, according to the sources. The White House, under pressure to divulge the specifics of its interactions with Sestak, will release a formal statement later today outlining their version of events, including Clinton’s involvement.

According to the sources, White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel asked Clinton and his longtime adviser, lawyer Doug Band, to talk to Sestak about the race. It’s unclear right now whether the White House will say that Clinton was asked to suggest specific administration positions for Sestak, whether Clinton floated positions on his own, whether Clinton discussed other options not related to the adminstration, or whether employment even came up at all in the talks.

Have a great weekend, Rahm!