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I wrote a column for Christmas Eve about the large increase in the number of political appointees under Gov. Bill Richardson and the growth in the number of appointees making more than $100,000 a year... I expected the column to be noncontroversial. After all, I have written before on the subject. Instead, the column set off a small firestorm... Rushing to the governor's defense were two of his top aides — Bill Hume, a former Journal editorial page editor, and Gilbert Gallegos, [formerly of] the Albuquerque Tribune. Gallegos accused me of having disdain for Richardson's political appointees... Hume said I...

First, Obama's fellow Daley machine hack, Rod Blagojevich, tried to sell Obama's Senate seat. Obama's Chief of Staff, Rahm Emmanuel, discussed the future of the Senate seat with Blagojevich. Obama has since "cleared himself" of any wrongdoing. Then, Obama's advisor, Caroline Kennedy, tried to steal a Senate seat in New York, citing royal prerogative. Now, Obama's Commerce Secretary nominee, Bill Richardson, has withdrawn his nomination, amid speculation that he will be indicted for corruption. All this, and Obama hasn't even been sworn in!

Trapped in mud up to his crooked hips, Democrat hack William ( Cowboy Bill ) Richardson the governor of New Mexico, has thrown in the towel and asked for his name to be withdrawn from consideration for Commerce Secretary. It is a good bet that other crooked Democrats will be knocking on Chicago thug in Chief Rahm Emanuel's door with bags of money applying for the position now that the bidding has been reopened.

OBAMA-BUST: Bill Richardson will withdraw as Commerce secretary... Developing...

Barack Hussein Obama’s team is refusing to answer questions from reporters who want to know whether the president-elect knew that Bill Richardson, the Democratic governor of New Mexico, was being investigated by a federal grand jury on corruption charges, before he was chosen as the next Secretary of Commerce. This is the second corrupt Democratic governor — the first being Gov. Rod Blagojevich of Illinois — associated with the not-even-inaugurated Obama administration to be named as part of federal corruption investigations. Obama himself reportedly talked with U.S. Attorney Peter Fitzgerald’s office last week about the scandal which involved Blagojevich trying...

Perhaps no governor has rewarded so many supporters with so much. Five years ago, just eight of Gov. Bill Richardson's political appointees made more than $100,000 a year. Today, more than 100 earn at least that much. Also up under Richardson: the number of gubernatorial political appointees, formally known as exempt employees. In his first 15 months in office, the number of appointees scattered throughout government grew from 167 to 307. Today, there are 468 gubernatorial appointees in exempt positions. That growth in the patronage, or spoils, system of state government is one of the legacies of Richardson as he...

Gov. Bill Richardson's office Thursday would neither confirm nor deny reports the governor has hired a lawyer to represent him in a grand jury investigation over a possible "pay-to-play" scheme involving a state transportation and highway program. KRQE, Channel 13, reported Wednesday that Richardson had hired Albuquerque lawyer Peter Schoenburg as his legal counsel in the grand jury case. The grand jury, as reported by The Associated Press and other news organizations this week, is looking into a possible connection between a Beverly Hills, Calif., financial company's large contributions to Richardson political action committees and nearly $1.5 million the company...

Stephen Gardner, former chief executive of Peregrine Systems, was sentenced today (Dec. 11) to eight years and one month for his role in the fraud. Gardner's lawyer, Reid Figel, said that Peregrine was engaged in criminal activity before Gardner arrived in 1997When he came to Peregrine, this type of activity was the practice," said Figel. "It was the way they did business." Gardner made $8.2 million dumping Peregrine stock. The company's former chairman, John Moores, who was with Peregrine almost from the beginning, dumped nearly $500 million of stock during the fraud period, and $650 million worth, almost all he...

To our news viewers: The office of Governor Bill Richardson is taking strong exception to a story that aired Tuesday night on News 13 at 10. In that report, News 13's Dave Bohman told you that, after a press conference about jobs coming to Belen, the Governor left abruptly and ignored our attempt to question him about a grand jury investigation that's now underway. ( See the report and video of Richardson leaving the press conference ). On Wednesday, his deputy chief of staff, Gibert Gallegos, sent us an e-mail complaining about that report and about our conduct at the...

New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson will go before the U.S. Senate in coming weeks as Barack Obama’s nominee for secretary of Commerce. Will Democrats in that chamber remember his performance in 1999 and 2000 as Energy secretary, when secrets disappeared from nuclear laboratories, and one Democratic senator promised to oppose Richardson for any future nomination? In the January of 1999, the U.S. House Select Committee on Intelligence published ... the “Cox Report” -- which found that China had stolen and still was stealing nuclear weapons secrets from the U.S. The committee reported that “the primary focus of this long-term,...

We all know Gov. Bill Richardson likes to travel, and we all know he has a sweet tooth for executive jets like the $5.5 million Cessna purchased by his administration. But he's probably going to be flying a lot more on commercial airlines — in coach — once he's confirmed as Barack Obama's commerce secretary. Sure, the federal government has jets, but their use by Cabinet secretaries and others is restricted. Also, as a federal employee, Richardson will face restrictions on how he can finance travel on private jets and rules on when he can accept free plane rides from...

Richardson dodges questions on jury probe By Steve Terrell | The New Mexican 12/16/2008 Gov. Bill Richardson cut short a news conference Tuesday, abruptly leaving the room and ignoring reporters' questions about a federal grand jury investigation. A grand jury in Albuquerque reportedly is looking into a possible "pay-to-play" connection between a Beverly Hills financial company's large contributions to Richardson political action committees and nearly $1.5 million the company received for work on a state road-building program. Richardson at news conferences normally fields inquiries on virtually any subject a reporter wants to ask about. And he frequently lingers in the...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A federal grand jury is investigating how a California firm that contributed to the political activities of New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, the nominee to head the Commerce Department, won a lucrative government contract. A person familiar with the proceedings told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the panel 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. The person asked not to be named because the proceedings are secret.

A federal grand jury will convene in Albuquerque Tuesday to look a possible "pay-to-play" relationship between Gov. Bill Richardson's administration and a California financial firm hired to advise state government, according to separate reports. The company, CDR Financial Products, was paid almost $1.5 million to advise the state on complicated bond transactions and to manage an escrow account. The firm also donated nearly $100,000 to Richardson political action committees. News 13 has learned that the FBI and federal prosecutors have been investigating CDR's activities in New Mexico since last summer. The thrust of the investigation is whether the company paid...

SANTA FE — Gov. Bill Richardson will be one of the first riders on the New Mexico Rail Runner Express' inaugural run to Santa Fe today.

Bill Richardson is now being investigated by a federal grand jury for pay to play allegations. CDR Financial Products donated $100,000 to register Hispanic and Indian voters in 2004 and thus received $1.5 million dollars in fess from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004. Can't post article because it is from Bloomberg.

More than 5,000 people have been killed in Mexico's out of control drug cartel wars this year, so why is our government opening even more border crossings at this time with Mexico. Many elected officials are ignoring Mexico's raging war against the drug cartels and instead of focusing on safety and public security, trying to widen the openings in our border with Mexico strictly for commerce purposes. DOBBS: Disturbing new details emerging tonight from Mexico proving that the raging drug cartel wars there are far more deadly than the government of Mexico has previously admitted. The U.S. response, however, is...

Don't believe Barack Obama's grandmother? Don't believe the ambassador to Kenya? How about Barack Obama's own Cabinet member? That's right – former presidential candidate and Obama's choice for secretary of commerce, Gov. Bill Richardson, slipped up. In an effort to reach out to the Hispanic community, he admitted what Barack Obama has been trying to hide all these months: "Barack Obama is an immigrant." See it for yourself:

"Barack Obama is the best candidate for the Hispanic community because our community wants a united country. Obama is an immigrant. When he speaks to Latinos, he doesn't just speak about immigration and civil rights..."

"Wow!" That was Chris Matthews' immediate reaction to Barack Obama's response to a question from a Fox News reporter about why his pick for Commerce Secretary, Bill Richardson, shaved his beard off. After playing a clip from Obama's press conference introducing Richardson on Monday night's "Hardball," Matthews awed at the "intellectual" way Obama analyzed Richardson's personal grooming habits.

After the campaign, I grew a beard as a rebellion against those consultants who told me I had to comb my hair, shave, lose weight. I said, You know, I’m gonna do what I want now. That was a good feeling. I named my horse after Toby Keith because I really like the guy. Genuine—that’s Toby Keith. One of the great things about him is that during dinner he’ll start singing a song. Right there. Not to perform, but to tell you what he was feeling the particular day that he wrote it. As I’m chatting with Obama, the moderator...

Another Hardball, another opportunity for Chris Matthews, his eyes on the prize of the Dem nomination for senator from PA in 2010, to ingratiate himself with his party's powers-that-be. No one is more powerful than Barack Obama, of course, and Matthews found numerous ways this evening to praise the president-elect, even lauding, as NewsBuster Geoffrey Dickens has noted, his dud of an attempt at humor when it came to Bill Richardson's erstwhile beard. Richardson, too, came in for some Matthews fawning. View video here.

(CNN) - Gov. Bill Richardson showed up to his press conference with President-elect Barack Obama Wednesday morning without the beard he has been sporting since dropping out of the presidential race in January, sparking his new boss to tell reporters he is "deeply disappointed with the loss of the beard." "I'm going to answer this question about the beard," said Obama, when Richardson was asked where the facial hair went. "I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it. I thought that whole Western, rugged look was really working for him. "For some reason, maybe because...

Sen. Byrd during a June 21, 2000 Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on then-Energy Secretary Bill Richardson.

President-elect Barack Obama just made it official: Bill Richardson is leaving New Mexico to take a job as U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The text of his announcement is posted below. But the money line of the news conference had to be when Obama said he misses the now clean-shaven governor's beard. Obama interjected in response to a reporter's question directed to Richardson about the missing beard. "I think it was a mistake for him to get rid of it, I thought that whole Western rugged look was really working for him," Obama said, grinning. "For some reason, maybe because it's...

And so it begins. The end of next week, the Rail Runner Express commuter rail to Santa Fe pulls out of the station for its inaugural run. Quite properly, it'll be a celebration loaded with meaning. By the time the one hour and 30 minute ride chugs into Santa Fe, we'll not only have taken a giant leap to the future, we'll honor the past as well. For the moment, let's take that leap forward. Say two decades. Is there anyone left who opposed this project who cannot acknowledge that, in one fell swoop, we have looked the future in...

The beginning of commuter train service between Santa Fe and metropolitan Albuquerque is promised for this month. Just exactly which day, however, is a question that officials are slow to answer. "We'd like to put a date out there, but we've got to get all our ducks in a row first," Augusta Meyers, communications manger for the Mid-Region Council of Governments, said Monday. "There is no official start date at this point, just a tentative, 'We're shooting for mid-December.' " The council of governments is on contract to plan the Rail Runner Express train for the state Department of Transportation....

Other than that Christmas Eve flight hauling gifts around the globe, perhaps there's no run more anticipated these days than the one set to start about two weeks from today. "This is the hottest ticket in town for the holidays, buddy," Lawrence Rael of the Mid-Region Council of Governments said. "Even Santa wants a ride." Mark your calendars: The Rail Runner Express commuter train's inaugural public run into Santa Fe is tentatively set to take place Friday, Dec. 12, with Wednesday, Dec. 17, expected to be the actual start of scheduled commuter service to and from the capital city. Thus...

If Gov. Bill Richardson becomes America's next secretary of commerce as expected, he'll take over a sprawling agency with almost 40,000 employees and a host of wildly divergent challenges. First — and perhaps most important given the current financial crisis — Richardson will have a seat at the table when President-elect Barack Obama convenes his economic team to talk about solutions. While Timothy Geithner, Obama's choice for treasury secretary, and Lawrence Summers, who will lead the National Economic Council, are seen as key players, Richardson should have an important role in promoting American business and advising on international trade.

Back in the 1980s, when I was covering the Statehouse in Pennsylvania, Gov. Dick Thornburgh was asked at a news conference about all the lucrative bond counsel work his administration had given to his political friends. Thornburgh responded: What do you want me to do, hire my enemies? He went on to serve as attorney general under President Reagan and his successor, George H.W. Bush. I have thought of Thornburgh's response in the years since Gov. Bill Richardson has taken office and his administration has doled out contracts, jobs, appointments and more to Richardson's campaign contributors. Repeatedly, the administration has...

Network's Andrea Mitchell and Chuck Todd reporting Obama will name his economic team Monday. 1:55pm UPDATE: The New York Times is reporting that Sen. Hillary Clinton has decided to quit her Senate seat and accept the post of Secretary of State, according to two Clinton confidants. Senior advisers to President-elect Barack Obama told the Times this morning that the offer had not been formally accepted and no announcement would be made until after Thanksgiving, but said they were convinced the deal was ready to be sealed. NBC News is reporting that President-elect Barack Obama will roll out his economic team...

At 78, Larry Eagleburger hasn't lost his fastball. Since leaving government, he might actually have added some MPH. Appearing on MSNBC this afternoon, the former Secretary of State in George H.W.'s administration warmed up with some rough words for Barack Obama and Christopher Hitchens . . . then absolutely rubbished Bill Richardson. Andrea Mitchell had invited Eagleburger on to assess the list of potential Secretary of State nominees. While he wasn't wildly enthusiatic about Hillary, she was his pick among those under serious consideration. When Mitchell suggested that Bill Clinton's foreign policy experience might prove useful, Eagleburger unloaded on Obama's...

President-elect Barack Obama has interviewed primary election rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton and Bill Richardson to be his secretary of state, Democrats said Friday, as he weighed the decision on folding former foes into his new administration.

Identity politics in the Democratic Party are already presenting challenges to President-elect Barack Obama, who is under pressure to appoint Hispanics and African-Americans to key posts in his administration. Both groups were crucial to Obama’s victory last week over Republican John McCain. Ninety-six percent of African-American voters cast ballots for Obama, while 67 percent of Hispanic voters. Both are now counting on Obama to appoint Hispanic and African-American politicians to his Cabinet as a way of rewarding their support. New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a Hispanic who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination but later endorsed Obama, should be secretary...

For the second time in a week, a prominent Democrat has downgraded Barack Obama's definition of the middle class -- leading Republicans to question whether he'll stick to his promise not to raise taxes on anyone making under $250,000. The latest hiccup in the campaign message came Friday morning on KOA-AM, when New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson pegged the middle class as those making $120,000 and under. Click here to listen to Richardson talk about Obama's tax plan. "What Obama wants to do is he is basically looking at $120,000 and under among those that are in the middle class,...

The FBI is investigating how a California firm won a state consulting contract worth almost $1 million in connection with the massive GRIP transportation bond program. Agents have been interviewing people involved in awarding contracts to CDR Financial Products LLC, and are looking at its political contributions to political action committees established by Gov. Bill Richardson. The $1.6 billion GRIP bond program is one of the biggest in state history and has been used to pay for road improvements and the Rail Runner commuter train. GRIP stands for Governor Richardson's Investment Partnership and was approved by the Legislature during a...

Richardson: Bill Clinton ‘still ticked off at me’ By Klaus Marre Posted: 08/26/08 12:42 PM [ET] New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson (D) said Tuesday that he has made up with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) after endorsing her rival but that he has not even spoken to Bill Clinton since then. The former president is “probably still ticked off at me,” said Richardson,

SANTA FE — A state Senate leader, worried about New Mexico's revenue projections, called for a dramatically scaled-back tax rebate plan Saturday at a special legislative session called by Gov. Bill Richardson... "This is all about economics — just how much money you have," Senate President Pro Tem Tim Jennings, D-Roswell, said of his plan to send out about $56 million worth of state rebate checks to New Mexicans strapped by high gas prices — a far cry from the $120 million rebate plan pushed by Richardson, a fellow Democrat.~~snip~~ Richardson called the special session, which began on Friday, in...

The DNCC announced the speakers for the prime-time slot on Wednesday night of the convention, and the list is intriguing. Wednesday night is when the VP nominee addresses the convention, and CNN scrutinizes the list for a hint on Barack Obama’s choice Former president Bill Clinton will address the delegates, as will Harry Reid, Ken Salazar, and Jay Rockefeller. Alexander Mooney focuses on two other speakers, but misses an obvious third choice: The two senators widely believed to be at the top of Barack Obama’s shortlist for VP have been given prime-time speaking slots at the Democratic convention Wednesday night...

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson slammed GOP presidential candidate Sen. John McCain today, calling his criticism of Barack Obama's trip to Europe and the Middle East as nothing more than "sour grapes." Richardson, one of Sen. Obama's most high-profile surrogates, also said that the Obama campaign was considering a trip to Latin America sometime prior to the November election. "There are discussions about it. He wants to emphasize that his administration would not be Europe-centric or only focused on the Middle East," said Richardson in an interview. The trip would also likely generate excitement among many of the country's Hispanic...

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson (D) said Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is "overreacting" and "whining" in response to The New York Times refusing to run his editorial about Iraq. Richardson, who supports Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) for president, said in an interview on Fox News on Tuesday that the rejection of McCain's editorial is not surprising because The New York Times turns down many editorials from politicians, including presidential candidates. "Well, look, The New York Times is very fussy. I mean, I've sent many editorials that they've rejected — in fact, most of them," Richardson said.

Plans for a sales tax to support the Rail Runner commuter train and a regional bus system are gaining steam. Bernalillo and Sandoval counties are to consider this week publishing a legal notice needed to put the one-eighth-cent tax on the Nov. 4 ballot. Valencia County might do the same, though perhaps not until next month. "I think the Rail Runner's time has come," said Alan Armijo, chairman of the Bernalillo County Commission. Voters "at least need the opportunity to decide that." The tax proposal must clear one more step before going to the counties — passage by the regional...

On Monday, Obama off-handedly reiterated his fondness for 1990s-style treatment of Islamic terrorists as if they were mere criminals to be managed by prosecution in the civilian criminal-justice system. By now, that should come as no surprise. Pressed on the subject again Wednesday, Obama insisted, “I have confidence that our system of justice is strong enough to deal with terrorists.” Top Obama backer Bill Richardson, a member of the Clinton Cabinet that delegated national defense to our system of justice while radical Islam killed Americans in New York City, Somalia, Saudi Arabia, Kenya, Tanzania, and Yemen, told CNN on Wednesday...

Promises of a friendlier US position towards Egypt, and the rest of the region, were voiced by a supporter of the Democratic Party candidate. Dina Ezzat heard what might happen -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bill Richardson, the governor of New Mexico, a former US presidential candidate and a current key figure in the campaign backing Barack Obama, the Democratic candidate for this year's presidential elections, was in Cairo this week in an advanced attempt to promote Obama as a US president with a will to fortify good relations with the region, including Egypt, which he described as a country with a pivotal role...

DEMING, N.M. (AP) - Governor Richardson says he's concerned about violence along New Mexico's border with Mexico. Authorities say seven men have been killed in the Mexican border town of Palomas in a turf war among drug cartels. The Luna County Sheriff's Department says 162 gun shells were found where five men were killed Sunday in Palomas, across the border from Columbus, New Mexico. Another 67 casings were found where a man and his son were fatally shot Friday. A spokesman for Richardson says the governor has directed New Mexico public safety officials to be vigilant to ensure the problems...

CHIHUAHUA, Mexico — New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said Wednesday that he has seen an improvement in security along the U.S.-Mexico border. Problems remain, but increased policing by state and federal authorities has significantly helped, said Richardson, a former U.N. ambassador and former Democratic presidential candidate. "In my opinion, there has been a dramatic improvement in the last two months," Richardson told reporters in the Mexican border state of Chihuahua, across from New Mexico, where he met with Chihuahua Gov. Jesus Reyes Baeza. Richardson said he would ask U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Tony Garza to reevaluate a travel alert, issued...

Almost $3,000 [was] the price illegal immigrants from Brazil were apparently willing to pay two Russian-speaking organizers of a scheme to get them New Mexico licenses. Court documents filed Thursday charged James Kulekhov and Anastissiya Galiullina, with illegally transporting eight Brazilian nationals from Newark, N.J., to New Mexico for the purpose of obtaining state driver's licenses. Galiullina is from Kazakhstan and overstayed her visa. She needed a Russian interpreter for court proceedings Wednesday. Agents were still trying to figure out Kulekhov's true identity. ... Kulekhov and Galiullina are scheduled to be arraigned this morning in federal court. Two of the...

Diplomacy: Bill Richardson met Hugo Chavez Sunday ostensibly to help U.S. hostages held in Colombia by FARC terrorists. But Colombia doesn't want Chavez involved, so it's worth asking what Richardson's up to. By his engagement in private diplomatic initiatives, the governor of New Mexico seems to be running for secretary of state in the Cabinet of the candidate he has endorsed, Barack Obama. Nothing wrong with that, but let's be upfront: Richardson's aim doesn't seem entirely pure. Winning the release of U.S. hostages held for five years in Colombia's jungle would demonstrate his diplomatic chops. But because Richardson insists on...