Richardson Withdraws As Obama Nominee

(CBS/AP)  New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his name as Commerce Secretary designate today amid a grand jury investigation. President-elect Barack Obama has accepted that withdrawal.

"It is with deep regret that I accept Governor Bill Richardson's decision to withdraw his name for nomination as the next Secretary of Commerce," Obama said in a statement.

A federal grand jury is looking into how Beverly Hills financial services company, CDR, earned a $1.5 million state contract after contributing to Governor Richardson's political action committees. And now there are questions about Obama's transition team's vetting process, reports CBS News correspondent Joel Brown.

"Everyone knew about this investigation," says Politico.com's Mike Allen. "The President-elect took a chance. The question is why. Did (Obama's) vetters ask enough questions? Did (Richardson) give the right answers?"

A person familiar with the proceedings has told The Associated Press that the grand jury is looking into possible "pay-to-play" dealings between CDR Financial Products and someone in a position to push the contract through with the state of New Mexico.

Richardson denied any wrongdoing, but said this morning that the pending investigation threatened to stall the confirmation process for several weeks or months.

He said that he had responded to a "call to duty" when accepting Obama's request to serve as Secretary of Commerce, acknowledging that the department will play an urgent role in resolving the nation's economic problems.

"It is also because of that sense of urgency about the work of the Commerce Department that I have asked the President-elect not to move forward with my nomination at this time," Richardson said this morning. "I do so with great sorrow.

"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact. But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process.

"Given the gravity of the economic situation the nation is facing, I could not in good conscience ask the President-elect and his Administration to delay for one day the important work that needs to be done."

CDR spokesman Allan Ripp, in an exclusive telephone interview with CBS News, said, "The firm adamantly doesn't practice pay-for-play under any circumstance on any playing field. It is pay for performance, pay for expertise, pay for track record, and pay for merit."

Ripp said that CDR was selected by the New Mexico Finance Authority after what he called "a very rigorous and open review of credentials, expertise, cost and track record with other municipalities and government agencies around the country. CDR delivered exceptional services to the state under the terms of the contract as the state's swaps advisor."

"The firm was chosen through a thorough and rigorous selection process. On that basis alone the firm won a partial contract with the state. CDR was vying to do all the work, but the state chose another firm to share the work with CDR."

Ripp, who called Richardson "an extremely accomplished and an extremely capable public official," questioned the motives of whomever released information about the grand jury investigation.

"The timing is extremely unfortunate," he told CBS News. "One would have to ask who is leaking news of this investigation and why this information is being leaked when Governor Richardson is being vetted for a presidential appointment."

Obama said Richardson is "an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office. It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first that he has removed himself as a candidate for the Cabinet in order to avoid any delay in filling this important economic post at this critical time.

"Although we must move quickly to fill the void left by Governor Richardson's decision, I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration."

Richardson, 61, is one of the nation's most prominent Hispanic politicians. A two-term governor of New Mexico, he boasts an extensive and wide-ranging resume. He was a seven-term congressman with a knack for freelance diplomacy, undertaking unofficial diplomatic missions in such places as North Korea, Sudan, Cuba and Iraq.

In 2002, Richardson first won election as governor of New Mexico.

He sought the Democratic presidential nomination this year, but eventually dropped out and endorsed Obama.

[hatesthecolt]

Asa usual, tex, you miss my points which are:
1. S ex between consulting adults shouldn''t be a basis for forcing someone to resign elective office because most of us didn''t vote for a candidate on that basis, we voted for him on policy issues. So if you believe the candidate is doing a good job for you, then the s ex thing only matters if you are some kind of moral freak, or if you are an opponent.
2. I get that Spitzer as Attorney General was responsible for enforcing the laws and then he broke one, but why should he be held to a higher standard than others who broke laws especially when I personally regard the other laws (DUI) as at least as (if not more) destructive just because he was an AG?
3. I never said this applied to Spitzer (or Clinton) because they were Dems. I apply this equally to Dems and Repubs: if you like the guy''s policies, then keep''em in; who cares who they sleep with... that''s between them and their spouses. But if you are going to take out on a guy that he sleeps around, it needs to apply to both parties too... so every Republican who has an affair needs to resign as well, right? And if he lies about it like Clinton did (even if it''s only to save his family embarrassment), then we must impeach him.

[hatesthecolt]

I wish Spitzer hadn''t resigned but he had to because he got caught up in something illegal: prostitution. If it hadn''t been illegal, even though he would have taken a hit, I don''t believe he would have resigned except maybe for personal reasons.

This *** stuff has no bearing usually on whether or not someone is doing a good job in office and shouldn''t bear on whether they keep their jobs or not. Same with Bill Clinton: the only thing Republicans in office could ever really tar him with was Lewinski which had no bearing on his fitness for office or the job he was doing.

[hatesthecolt]

Like Spitzer, it''''s time for the Democrats to fall off the high horse they rode in on.

Posted by txgrouch2008

Before you come down so hard on Spitzer, give some credit where it''d due: he was one of the first and last Attorney Generals to really take it to Wall St. And let''s also not forget that he wasn''t brought down because of public corruption but because of private foibles... the kind of krap I could care less about.

[hatesthecolt]

You wear dresses don''''t you?

Posted by TheMasses100

You''re 12 aren''t you?

[hatesthecolt]

You wear dresses don''''t you?

Posted by TheMasses100

You''re 12 aren''t you?

[hatesthecolt]

You wear dresses don''''t you?

Posted by TheMasses100

You''re 12 aren''t you?

[hatesthecolt]

You wear dresses don''''t you?

Posted by TheMasses100

You''re 12 aren''t you?

[billrich11]

I''m loving it....This is so good for America.

I''ve been telling you folks how nobody was concerned with what Blago was doing, merely with the fact he was recorded while doing it.

Especially right at a time when Barack NObama was busy collecting his hundreds of millions in "Pay to Play" fees for his cabinet.

Now we see Hillary being exposed in some of her hubby''s newly release financial reports for running a "Pay to Play" scheme with some up state NY land developer.

And, now we see my name sake getting caught running his on version of the "Pay to Play" politics we have all long known the old DumboCraphead Party to be all about.

[billrich11]

Told by whom? Who is supposed to be feeding people who disagree with you lines of text to type out?
Posted by earache4 at 09:31 AM : Jan 05, 2009
===================


I don''t know of what you whine, but we real Americans all know you NObama worshipping neo-Marxist un-American libturd minions are breech loaded daily by your "White Massars" who run the DNC.

To deny this is just laughable.

[hatesthecolt]

I have a hard time beleiveing this of Bill Richardson but I am willing to await the outcome of the investigation... maybe you Richardson bashers could do the same? If only he could be given some credit for stepping down graciously.