Adios! Bill Richardson drops out as Commerce Secretary
Looks like the chickens of Bill Richardson’s pay-to-play scandal have come home to roost. Let it be the first of many ethics-tainted Obama nominations to go down in flames. Adios, Bill.
NBC reporting:
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.
“Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact,” he said Sunday in a report by NBC News. “But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.”
So much for all that “best person for the job” blather. Looks like Barack Obama’s vetters haven’t gotten any better since the campaign.
Flashback: Bill Richardson’s own pay-to-play scandal?
Refresher via WaPo:
A federal grand jury is investigating whether a financial firm improperly won more than $1.4 million in work for the state of New Mexico shortly after making contributions to political action committees of Gov. Bill Richardson (D).
The probe focuses on whether the governor’s office urged a state agency to hire CDR Financial Products. The probe is in a highly active stage at a time when President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Richardson as his nominee for secretary of commerce, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is expected to hear testimony today from several key witnesses, including officials at Richard’s political action committees and bankers at J.P. Morgan who worked with CDR on the state’s investments.
The inquiry is part of a long-running nationwide investigation into “pay-to-play” practices in local government bond markets. In other cities, federal investigators are questioning whether financial firms have lavished politicians with money and gifts in exchange for fee-paying work advising municipal and local governments on investments. Authorities indicted the mayor of Birmingham, Ala., this month on charges of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and loans from a firm that led the city into toxic investments and massive bankruptcy.
In the New Mexico case, the FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating how CDR, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., won lucrative fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 soon after donating $100,000 to two Richardson organizations.
From 2003 to 2004, CDR Financial gave $75,000 to Sí Se Puede, which paid for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. CDR’s president and founder, David Rubin, also gave $25,000 to Moving America Forward, which funded Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters.
Rubin was generous to Obama’s campaign as well, giving $29,000 to help elect the senator to the White House. Yesterday, the Obama transition office declined to comment on the development.
***
Who’s next? Perhaps the Richardson bungle will embolden Republicans for a fight over Eric Holder.
Also on the withdrawal wish list: Crooked Carol Browner.
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Trackbacks
- Left Of Center » Blog Archive » BREAKING: Richardson to withdraw as Commerce secretary
- Richardson’s Pay To Play Debt Comes Due « Jane Q. Republican
- MishMashZone » Richardson Backs Out As Commerce Secretary - Adios Bill!
- Paging Dr. Coburn « JoHNBRoDiGaNDoTCoM
- NM Governor Bill Richardson Drops Bid to Be Obama’s Commerce Secretary | Scared Monkeys
- Trouble in Obamatopia! « America, You Asked For It!
- Que? Corrupt Bill Richardson says adios to being Commerce Secretary | Fire Andrea Mitchell!
- Latinos to Obama: Richardson Is Great, But We Want More « The Forum
- Richardson Withdraws as Commerce Secretary | The American Pundit
- PoliGazette » Richardson Withdraws as Commerce Secretary Nominee
- Richardson out of commerce job « Will Rhodes Portmanteau
- HOT UPDATED: 04 JAN - Grand Jury Probes Bill Richardson Donor’s New Mexico Financing Fee « Goodtimepolitics
- Richardson Under Investigation - Withdraws From Obama Cabinet | BigMouthFrog
- What does Politicians say when they get caught in wrong doings? « Goodtimepolitics
- Message From Democrats: “Thanks, Suckers” «
- See ya Taco Head! Richardson Withdraws Update: Team Obama Says Richardson Misled them! | Political Byline
- Team Obama Posts “Help Wanted” Sign For [Self?] Vacated Secretary Of Commerce Seat | THE GUN TOTING LIBERAL™
- Obama in 16 days, Do you know where your wallet is? « Riggword Weblog
- ButAsForMe! » Adios! Bill Richardson drops out as Commerce Secretary
- Say It Ain’t So… Hillary Clinton in Pay for Play Scandal… : P.U.M.A
- Michelle Malkin » Richardson: “Disappointed” and “hurt” by turn of events, but the real issue is people are losing their houses!
- Maybe Obama Could Sell the Eggs… : The Sundries Shack
- Obama’s Hope, Change and Corruption coming to the White House in 7 days: « Riggword Weblog
- Rocky Road for the Messiah! The B. Hussein Obama Transition Progress Report | Fire Andrea Mitchell!
- Bungle Mania ... - Marijuana Growing
- Badger Blogger » Blog Archive » Bill Richardson’s Pay to Play scandal knocks him out
- Michelle Malkin dominates the ladies on The View « Olive Spin
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Sí se puede
Idiot!
If a lackey falls on a sword and nobody is there to twist it, does it still hurt?
Emanuel will not make it to the White house either.
Notice that he did it on Sunday afternoon for minimum MSM coverage.
Dang, after reading that piece from MSNBC, I just can’t fanger out what friggin’ party this Bill “clean as a whistle” Richardson is a member of.
Richardson’s statement can be filed under the heading of “Famous last words.”
Goodbye, good riddance.
Identity politics. One from column a, one from column b…
Good riddance to bad rubbish! Now if only a similar scandal {of greater proportions, naturally – as a female Hispanic, she’s a twofer} could erupt around Hilda Solis, Labor Secretary-designate ………………….
Semper Fi’
DM
That Obama bus must have one awesome suspension system to keep taking the beatings it’s daily subjected to.
On the other hand I couldn’t think of a better soul to turn into roadkill
Good for the country as a whole, but BAD for us New Mexicans. We have to take him back. Yech!!!!!!
The wheels on the bus go “bumpity-bump”…
Or, too be fair to the cultural diversity crowd, that should that be
Las ruedas del bus hacen “golpecito- golpe”…
Wow, that makes room for someone with actual experience in commerce for the position.
Poor bho! Lets hope this is one of many he has named who have to drop out because of questionable activities.
L
Richardson’s skeletons are piled deep in many closets. While a member of the House of Representatives, he took it upon himself, against State Department wishes, to go several times to North Korea. Later, he was U. S. Ambassador to the United Nations when Bill Clinton wanted to get Monica Lewinsky out of her White House intern position, so tasked Richardson to find her another job at the UN in NYC. None of Richardson’s closeted bones will be exposed, of course, because the MSM isn’t interested in dirt unless it comes from the right side of the political aisle.
One down….how many to go?
All that remains is for the MSM to spin that all of the corruption scandals surrounding Obama prove that he himself is free of corruption.
And for someone to welcome Bill Richardson to the underside of the bus.
I do not think the Republicans have the courage to challenge The One. They are in their “go along to get along” mode.
Five little donkeys laying in a bed, one looked over to the other and said “Roll over, roll over”
Four little donkeys laying in a bed, one looked over to the other and said “Roll over, roll over”
.
.
One little donkey laying in a bed, he looked over to no one and said “But Im Barak Obama.. where’d everybody go????”
Darn it! That guy is sure making it hard for Brobama to reward him with a cabinet position. Not surprising though. After slapping the crap out of Hil and Bill with a no loyalty at all action for the boost they gave him by jumping ship when it became apparent Obama would be the Dems guy. Lots of Ethics. All low. Just another liberal democrat.
I Clintonista down many to go! If we can cull some more from the herd for Clinton’s third term the country might stand a chance yet.
ΜΟΛΩΝ ΛΑΒE (mo-lone lah-veh) Translation: Come and take them!
First of many BHO appointees/administration members’ scandals, methinks. And hopes, as petty as that sounds.
Wow! Two things surprise me. First, a Democrat was engaged in questionable ethical practices and maybe even corruption? Second, The WaPo NOTICED? I never expected to see that in my lifetime…
Senor Richardson’s demise would be a non-story if it weren’t for the “i told you so” value on its face.
What a useless pant-load. Just another corrupt Hispanic-American politician.
What ever happened to Hanky Cisneros?
I wonder if Michelle Obingo’s mommy needs a chauffeur.
Do Raza proud and stay employed, Willie.
You can wear a nice hat, drive a nice vee-hickle, and you can overbloat your sense of self-importance just like always.
Who knows, you could parlay the job into the mind-numbing job of SecTransportation like good ol Norm Mineta did.
More useless con artists have gone far despite their setbacks by investigations into their own corruption.
Look at Bill and Hill— she is queen of the world now over at the stenchpot in Turtle Bay.
Keep your chin up, Willie. Your time at the trough is far from over.
Bear1909 out.
“That is not the same Bill Richardson I once knew…”
After watching the Minnesota Stupid Party apparatus sit fecklessly as the violent and corrupt Al Franken and his George Soros-funded allies (apparently) steal Norm Coleman’s Senate seat, it’s clear that the Stupid Party hasn’t the stones to oppose the massive corruption that is raison d’etre the Democratic party.
The “culture of corruption” that supposedly cost them the Congress in 2006 is penny ante compared to the RICO-worthy Dems, but they do nothing but watch helplessly as the Dems parlay their Treason Media advantage into greater power and numbers. Pitiful!
I thought this twit was DemcRATic Presidential timber?
Bwahahahaaaa!
Obama: “Quick, find me another Mexican for the position of Dept. of Commerce!”
Staff: “Does he or she have to be legal?”
Obama: “Call former Mexican president Fox. He’s not doing much these days. Ask him if he habla Ingles.”
Staff: “English? He has to speak English? That’s DISCRIMINATION! Raaaacissstt!!!”
Nothing more than Paleo-lib speak, for “G-D, I got caught, now how can I get out of it?”
And the last sentence, it is assumed that you all know about his concern for “the children,” and how any “untenable” delay will harm them.
Americus Democraticus Annus Protectus…pure and simple.
As anyone in New Mexico can attest, the dems here are nothing but corrupt. Look at Manny Aragon and the Albuquerque school system to name two instances. Chicago has nothing on NM in the pay-to-play arena.
The sad thing about this turn of events is that we still have this nimrod as governor until he resigns in disgrace or we vote the leftard out in slightly less than two years.
Get him a sharia financial guru for Commerce. That should keep the PC crowd happy.
“But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.”
Nah, he’s lying. It would have been tenable. Easily.
Richardson down…is it too much to hope that Hildabeaste is also going down? Take a look at this recent link from The New York Times of all places:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28485901
Or, you can find it on MSNBC news links on the Internet Explorer home page.
Sorry, I don’t know how to make it a real link.
The list of appointees that Obama has chosen can only be referred to as a target-rich environment.
Another answer to this simple prayer:
Let us also remember that Richardson admitted:
“Barack Obama is an immigrant.”
Anchor Baby Away!
Exactly right, zorro. That’s what Republicans do: go along to get along, because of who they are: spineless, unprincipled, fork-tongued, party-first/country last, leftist-collaborating, sell-outs that would sell their own children into slavery if they thought it would increase their wealth, position, or power (in fact, they are indeed selling their children into slavery).
I gave some money to the McCain/Palin campaign, and now the GOP has me on their sucker list. The ONLY reason I donated was because of Palin. They won’t get one cent more from me until they put her on the ticket and clean up their act.
Just a reminder that Richardson was at the top of Hillary’s Hit list…
#33 nuss,
Here is another link to the similar Hillary Clinton story to which you refer.
Now that the “secret” list of donors to Bill Clinton’s causes has been recently exposed, it will be interesting to see how an investigation into Richardson’s financial/political dealings was warranted…and how political donations given to Bill that are proven to chronologically coincide with political favors given by Senator Hillary receive no similar investigation.
After reviewing her entire career, Hillary sure appears to be one protected dude, that’s for sure
Richardson isn’t an anchor baby.
Mookie: Yes he is.
Obamabi’s incompetent and he picks incompetent people. This is no big surprise. What will be a big surprise is no more drop outs or grand jury investigations of candidates before inauguration day.
His father was an American citizen working in Mexico. At the time of Richardson’s birth, citizenship laws required one parent to have lived in the U.S. for ten years in order to transfer citizenship via birthright, which his father did.
Speaking of
fightinglame Republicans, this just in at Hot Air Headlines…Mitch McConnell: A trillion-dollar stimulus? Sure, why not?
“Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Sunday said an economic stimulus plan could receive “significant support” from Republicans if Democratic leaders include the GOP and don’t rush the bill.”
As I mentioned earlier, go along to get along. Never a thought for what is right or good for our Country. Pathetic.
All politicians these days simply want to be lobbyists. The pay is far better. And no angry emails…
The deal is to last long enough to be vested in both retirement and lifetime health benefits, then jump to K street for the big bucks. To be valuable on K street, you have to have “gotten along” in Congress. Ergo, they all sell out long before they jump.
Public service – what’s that?
As a fellow Latino, I would like to say to Richardson, ¡Vaya con el diablo, pendejo!
Translation: See ya!
Mookie: Would that one parent be his mother who was born in Mexico or his father who was born in Nicaragua?; My main point is in the context of intent; As we all know, millions of immigrants, both legal and illegal, have one primary intent, and that is to hatch a baby on U.S. soil.
My worry is that Commerce has now been stamped as the offical Hispanic “outreach” cabinet post. Just like we now must have at least one female justice and one black justice of the Supreme Court, and no white males — NWM –for Secretary of State, it will henceforth be mandated that only a person of Hispanic heritage can be nominated for commerce. Perhaps it is too early to tell. The rule for Commerce might be modified to be simply a version of the NWM rule – as long as there is at least one prominent Hispanic somewhere in the cabinet. We’ll just have to see but I fear the worst.
Michelle Malkin ahead of the curve as usual. It really is easier being a conservative than a liberal!
Michelle Malkin ahead of the curve as usual. It really is easier being a conservative than a liberal!
Hatch – now that’s funny. I like that. It made my Sunday.
“Government is organized plunder” – Frédéric Bastiat.
His father was born on a boat that was on its way to Nicaragua to collect museum specimens. Both of his father’s parents were American citizens.
As far as context goes, how is what Richardson’s parents did or didn’t do his fault? That’s as foolish as the people who call Michelle an anchor baby. What difference does it make? If you are born here, you’re an American citizen. Period.
Politicians, especially Dem’s, don’t just step back down the ladder when they’re on the way up for the good of the country or because their such swell guys. What the people need to know is: what is he being threatened with and by whom.
Mookie: All anchor babies are held harmless and without fault regarding the choices their parents make as to hatching them on U.S. soil; This applies to Gov. Richardson as well; He is,indeed, a U.S. citizen; Period; Agreed.
“He misled us.”
Forgot to add to that:
/schadenfreude
Hasta Fuego, Guillermo!…er…whatever.
Yippee! Seeing one of their grifters fall is like a bright light switched on in my brain. Heck, I haven’t been able to remember my password in weeks. (Must have been those darn ECT treatments they’ve been giving me ever since November 4. I kept screaming at them that I am not Winston Smith nor do love Obama. Needless to say, they thought I was stark, raving mad and that I should be more cooperative with the two, very large black gentleman who always helped me onto the table, even though it interrupted their card game.)
DON’T FORGET: Richardson is openly racist.
Here’s what he said when explaining why he wasn’t asking Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to step down like the rest of his Democrat peers in mid-2007:
“The only reason I’m not there is because he’s Hispanic, and I know him and like him,” Richardson said, adding, “It’s because he’s Hispanic. I’m honest.”
I wonder if things would have been different if the AG were white. Or black. Or Asian.
If Richardson had said this as a member of the GOP, he would have had to immediately resign from his governorship. He would have never been offered a cabinet position in the first place. And this would have gotten much more press.
http://www.thehill.com/campaign-2008/gov.-richardson-pretty-close-to-calling-for-gonzales-to-resign-2007-04-17.html
Well I am wondering when the MSM will start screaming that he should have vetted him much as they did with McCain and Palin …. and I wonder if I can get a job spray washing the bus all these folks keep getting thrown under, as it seems as though that is one job that is not at risk
On some level it is the honorable thing to do.
New Mexico could not get rid of Richardson, so does that mean Arizona can not get rid of J-No? He we have a
If this was enough to send Richardson down in flames how in the world can Clinton win an appointment? Oh, that’s right, the Dems have 59 Senators including one they out-and-out stole from the people. Never mind…
My compliments to MADMONKPHOTOG #46 for his very generous, clean, and politically correct translation of his excellent Spanish post.
***
This post bites a lot harder in real Spanish!
***
John Bibb
Damn-try again
New Mexico could not get rid of Richardson, so does that mean Arizona can not get rid of J-No? Here we have a Conservative Republican, Jan Brewer, ready to step up. Oh Lord Please-If J-No does have to go down PLEASE let it be after she resigns as Governator General of Arizona-Mistress of the Night-First Lady of the Lesbian League.
Governator General J-No is another one who owes everything to the Clintons and then back stabbed them at first chance. Could it be Miss Hillary is not well loved? Por qué es esto?
Never thought I’d ever be sympathetic to the Clintons but I was when Richardson endorsed Obama after all they did for him and they did A LOT.
Sorry, but even in politics, loyalty does matter.
Also noticed that Richardson grew a beard while he was out of the political spotlight just like Al Gore did, then shaved it when his political stock rose again, just like Gore. Maybe the beard will be back.
It is fortunate for the country that this wholly political creature will not be moving to Washington, but it is unfortunate for my poor state, New Mexico. Pity us.
Sympathies Dear mchristian-we might need yours soon