Hispanic Link News Service
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The political horizon for New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, who withdrew as President Obama’s choice for Secretary of Commerce in January because of a pending ethics problem over a state contract award, has brightened considerably.
The U.S. Justice Department announced Aug. 27 it would not prosecute the nation’s lone Hispanic governor nor any of his top aides in the matter.
Last December, Richardson accepted the Obama appointment but withdrew a month later when it became clear that a legal inquiry into state contracting would not end anytime soon.
Now speculation is building that the exoneration could put Richardson back on track for a high-profile presidential appointment.
Richardson, whose second term as governor ends December 2010, is widely believed to still be interested in serving in Obama’s administration. He scored major points late in the 2008 Democratic presidential primary for endorsing the Illinois senator over Hillary Clinton.
The former United Nations ambassador and frequent diplomatic troubleshooter was traveling on a trade mission to Cuba last month when news of his legal clearance finally came down.
The governor’s name Is now being mentioned in national reports as a possible special envoy to the communist country, long ostracized by the U.S. government.
On Aug. 28, U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt sent defense attorneys in the case a letter informing them that the United States “will not seek to bring charges against your clients” arising out of the New Mexico Finance Authority’s contract award with California-based CDR Financial Products. However, the prosecutor did not give the administration a completely clean bill of ethical health.
In a letter obtained by the Albuquerque Journal, New Mexico’s largest newspaper, Fouratt wrote that his inquiry revealed CDR and its officers made substantial contributions to political organizations in which Richardson was involved while the company was seeking the state contracts and that “…pressure from the governor’s office resulted in corruption of the procurement process so that CDR would be awarded such work,”.
The federal investigation examined whether more than $100,000 in political contributions made by CDR and its principles influenced the company’s selection as an adviser to the New Mexico Finance Authority for the GRIP bond program.
The inquiry focused on Richardson, his former chief of staff Dave Contarino, and University of New Mexico executive vice president David Harris, who headed the Finance Authority in 2004 when the bond program began. The three-paragraph letter said the notification “shall not preclude the United States or the grand jury from reinstituting such an investigation without notification if… circumstances warrant …”
Fouratt did not comment to the Journal.
Gilbert Gallegos, Richardson’s deputy chief-of-staff, issued a statement immediately after the governor got word that no indictments would be forthcoming.
“Governor Richardson has known all along that neither he nor any staff members committed any transgressions during their successful fundraising back in 2004,” Gallegos said. “The U.S. Attorney’s thorough and lengthy investigation has apparently determined the same thing — that no indiscretions occurred.” ©2009
