WASHINGTON, Jan. 5, 2009
Richardson Pick Proves Hitch For Obama
Kathleen Sebelius On Short List To Replace N.M. Gov. For Commerce Post
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Play CBS Video Video Richardson Quits As Cabinet Pick Gov. Bill Richardson has withdrawn his nomination as President-elect Obama's new Commerce Secretary over a legal inquiry in N.M. Some feel this is a sign there may be flaws in Obama's vetting process.
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President-elect Barack Obama announcing his Commerce Secretary-designate New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson last month. (AP)
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In-Depth Obama's Cabinet The latest names and status of posts within Obama's new administration.
A federal grand jury investigation into what could be a serious flaw, however, has led New Mexico's governor to a tough decision to leave the national political stage - at least for now.
Richardson on Sunday withdrew as Barack Obama's nominee to be Commerce Secretary - an unexpected hitch in what has been a generally smooth transition for the president-elect so far.
A federal grand jury is looking into how a California firm that contributed to Richardson's political activities won a lucrative state government contract.
The former U.S. diplomat sounded diplomatic in announcing his decision. He said he has done nothing wrong, but figured a dragged-out confirmation could slow down Obama's work. And so Richardson withdrew, spoke with pride about sticking with his job as governor, and told Obama he's still eager to serve down the line.
"The governor is confident that he will be cleared," said Richardson's spokesman, Gilbert Gallegos.
"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.
Putting aside the setback, Obama said: "It is a measure of his willingness to put the nation first."
CBS News White House correspondent Bill Plante reports that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is said to be on the short list of possible replacements.
A federal grand jury is looking into how Beverly Hills financial services company, CDR Financial Products, earned a $1.5 million state contract after contributing to Governor Richardson's political action committees.
Richardson denied any wrongdoing, but said Sunday that the pending investigation threatened to stall the confirmation process for several weeks or months.
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.”
As a result of Richardson's problems, questions are now surfacing over Obama's transition team's vetting process.
Richardson's withdrawal was the first bump in Obama's Cabinet process and the second "pay-to-play" investigation that has touched Obama's transition to the presidency. The president-elect
has not been implicated in either the New Mexico case or accusations that Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich tried to sell Obama's former Senate seat.
CBS News chief Washington correspondent Bob Schieffer says this latest turn demonstrates to Obama how events can always thwart the intentions of an incoming Chief Executive.
"No president can completely control his agenda," he told CBS Early Show. "There's something here that we don’t know yet - the fact that Bill Richardson suddenly asked that his name be withdrawn, there's something coming down the road that he's going to have to deal with."
Obama meets with congressional leaders Monday about a massive economic recovery bill he wants passed quickly. Obama transition officials said Richardson's withdrawal would not affect the stimulus plan because the Commerce Department was not heavily involved.
Obama spokesman Robert Gibbs said he expected a new commerce secretary would be chosen soon but didn't have a timetable. Gibbs denied that those tasked to look into Richardson's background missed something.
"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 senior Obama adviser said Richardson gave assurances before he was nominated last month he would come out fine in the investigation. But as the grand jury pursued the case, it became clear that confirmation hearings would be delayed at least six weeks until the investigation was complete, said the adviser, speaking on condition of anonymity about the discussions because they were private.
Aides to both men insisted Richardson made the decision to withdraw and was not pushed out by Obama. But one Democrat involved in discussions over the matter said transition officials became increasingly nervous during the last couple of weeks that the investigation could become an embarrassment to Obama, who ran on a clean government pledge.
Richardson, 61, is one of the most prominent Hispanics in the Democratic Party, having served in Congress, and in the Clinton administration as ambassador to the United Nations and Energy Secretary. As governor he has kept up an international profile with a specialty in dealing with rogue nations. He sought the Democratic presidential nomination this year, but eventually dropped out and endorsed Obama, who considered him for Secretary of State.
© MMIX, CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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See all 66 CommentsIf this was about Republicans, HITCH would hardly be the word used by them.
Posted by thgdriver1 at 05:14 PM : Jan 05, 2009
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Good point but you don''t go far enough or have enough respect for the intelligence of your fellow citizens. Most people understand very well that our entire political establishment is run on the basis of "Pay-For-Play." The quandary we all face at election time is trying to determine who is the least crooked of those we are permitted to vote for. It''s also why so many choose not to vote. It''s not so much apathy as frustration with a rigged system.
Posted by thgdriver1 at 03:46 PM : Jan 05, 2009
Bushit couldn''t remember where he was or his name without a teleprompter.
They would have both had strokes by now.
As it is.......a bunch excuses and "oh wells"
We have elected a man we know NOTHING about......stay tuned. Wright, Ayers, Rezko, Blago, now Richardson.....the hits keep on coming.....
If this was about Republicans, HITCH would hardly be the word used by them.
Obama hasn''t even taken office yet and the stench of the democrat political sewer can be smelled from coast to coast.
I am NOT aware of ANY other glitch in his current nominations of Cabinet posts. BTW..NBC agrees with me also as of last night!
Posted by Questionnews
All the Dimwitocrats make me laugh especially that empty suit Nobama.
[Posted by Questionnews at 02:01 PM : Jan 05, 2009]
he was an original writer and ''''periodic'''' cast member of saturday night live. he was the creator/writer/actor of a couple of the classic characters from the early history of the show.
Posted by bobnjersey at 03:45 PM : Jan 05, 2009
That''s insane! So his qualifications for being a Senator is being a talk show host of a bankrupt radio station & scribbling one-liners for SNL???
Can the bar get any lower? Is there even a bar left anymore? There has to be a better qualified Dem in Minn. He had better at least make the voters laugh.
Posted by bobnjersey
You''ll have to excuse Boob-n-Jersey. Not much to do there except watch the boob tube. Jersey, you know, the state they don''t charge you to get in, only to get back out.
Huh?
Why??!
Because that empty suit the Dimwitocrats put into the White house don''t know squat that''s why. He is a great speaker as long as the teleprompter don''t stop working or he has a speech memorized. He sure showed us how good he was when Joe the plumber asked the unexpected question. Does anyone remember Nobama doing that again during the election? NO!! He was not president elect 48 hours when he insulted a very respected former first lady and had to call her to apologize. No wonder his handlers had him hid away in Hawaii!!
[Posted by Questionnews at 02:01 PM : Jan 05, 2009]
he was an original writer and ''periodic'' cast member of saturday night live. he was the creator/writer/actor of a couple of the classic characters from the early history of the show.
Posted by geeimbad at 03:23 PM : Jan 05, 2009
Better to debut here than on American Idol. Can you imagine what Simon would have done to him.
When a senate seats for sale, and ya think nobody''s looking, who ya gonna call, Nobama!
When ya need some bucks, and ya need to be elected, all ya gotta do, is sell state contracts!
When they ask a tough question, and you don''t know what to say, all ya gotta do, is hide in Hawaii!
Posted by usclimey at 03:02 PM : Jan 05, 2009
Being Independent, I find it quite easy to pile criticism on loser, criminal, scumbag bottom feeders regardless of party affiliation. I''m all for any whistleblower that nails a corrupt politician''s nuts to a chair, be it Repub or Dem.
Just because some scummy little gangbanger from the Crips turns in (or criticizes) some scummy little gangbanger from the Bloods it doesn''t mean that one is any better than the other. The only ones that do are usually part of the "Gang" & loyalty is blinding.
Nice choice Nobama! LMFAO!!
Trooper Gate? She had her hand on the money until congress started asking questions. I have faith that Gov. Richardson will come out okay in this grand jury investigation. I will keep an eye on this and I know the state comptroller will soon resign and others will follow, but the governor will be cleared.
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