The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review is reporting that Joe Sestak’s campaign is violating the Department of Defense ethics guidelines that require former military officials who run for office to designate their ranks as “retired” or “reserve.”
The distinction is in place to avoid any endorsement implications on behalf of the U.S. Government.
When asked about the references in his campaign literature, Sestak played dumb:
“I don’t know what you are talking about,” said Sestak, who rose to the rank of three-star admiral but wasn’t in that position long enough to retire as such. He said he could not answer the question and referred it to campaign spokeswoman Danielle Lynch, who refused comment.
Reminded of the Pentagon’s military code of ethics regarding the use of titles, Sestak said: “Mmmm. Send us something on that, would you?”
The Trib’s story also revealed that Sestak is “being driven between campaign events,” despite claims he is walking across Pennsylvania.