Joe Sestak Admits He Lied About Latest Earmark Scandal

HARRISBURG — Republican Party of Pennsylvania Spokesman Mike Barley released the following statement regarding Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak’s admission that he misled the public about the earmark scandal when it was first uncovered.

“Why is the truth so hard for Joe Sestak?” Barley said. “The letter released today shows that Joe Sestak knew exactly what he was doing when he requested the earmark.

“Joe Sestak said that he ‘failed to catch’ the connection between The Thomas Paine Foundation and New Wave Energy LLC in the earmark request. Is he this sloppy with all of his earmark requests? This is proof that we can’t trust Sestak with our tax dollars and that we certainly cannot trust him to look out for Pennsylvania’s future in the U.S. Senate.”

Today, Democrat U.S. Senate candidate Joe Sestak reversed his previous statements regarding a $350,000 earmark that he applied for on behalf of the atheist advocacy group The Thomas Paine Foundation to build a wind turbine. In reality, the non-profit group was used to funnel money into the for-profit organization called New Wave Energy, LLC, a clear violation of House ethics rules. According to the Philly Clout column in today’s Philadelphia Daily News:

Congressman Sestak wrote to the Department of Energy which clearly demonstrates that Sestak knew the Thomas Paine Foundation and New Way Energy were related. Congressman Sestak writes in the first paragraph: “Mr. Devitt would like to discuss utility scale, floating Vertical Axis Wind Turbine (VAWT) as a means to reach off-shore winds quickly and cost effectively. The technology has been developed in conjunction with his non-profit organization, the Thomas Paine Foundation.”

Sestak told us Monday that he had no idea the constituent who requested the earmark in February in the name of the non-profit Thomas Paine Foundation of Media was also linked to a for-profit corporation, New Way Energy LLC in Aston.

Turns out that’s not exactly correct. Sestak just released a letter that he sent to the U.S. Department of Energy on April 12 that clearly connects the non-profit organization to the for-profit company. Sestak also released the initial application for the funding, to pay for construction of a prototype for a vertical axis wind turbine, which has a less definitive connection between the non-profit and for-profit. (Chris Brennan, “Sestak Clarifies Controversal ‘Earmark’ Remark, The Philadelphia Daily News, 9/2/10)

###