Free Republic

U.S. Rep. Pete Sessions will be holding a health care town hall meeting at Richardson's Eisemann Center next Monday, March 29, 2010. From Sessions' email invitation: Richardson Town Hall Meeting This month, I will be returning from Washington, DC for a District Work Period to meet with North Texans and to discuss your views about the work of Congress and the direction of America. As your Member of Congress, I invite you to join me for a Town Hall Meeting to discuss the future of health care in America. Richardson Town Hall Meeting Monday, March 29, 2010 7:00pm – 8:30pm...

The shady Iranian fundraiser who for years donated lucrative sums to top Democrats—including the president, vice president and secretary of state—has pleaded guilty to a major bank-fraud scheme that could land him in jail for nearly two decades.Disgraced Democratic money man Hassan Nemazee admitted this week that he defrauded three financial institutions out of nearly $300 million in loan proceeds by falsifying documents and signatures to show he had hundreds of millions of dollars worth of collateral. The Ivy League-educated crook then used the proceeds to donate big bucks to the campaigns of federal, state and local candidates. Among them...

The Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) is likely to find itself the target of more criticism after a Dallas immigration judge ordered one of their former board members deported due to terror connections. Nabil Sadoun, a leader in the Dallas Islamic community, had already left the United States for his native Jordan at the time of the ruling and Judge Anthony Rogers said that by taking such action he had waived his right to appeal the case. Dallas-Fort Worth news reports: In court, the judge made vague references to the government’s voluminous motion to deport him, including alleged involvement...

Note: The following text is a quote: Holy Land Foundation Representative Arrested United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade announced today that Mohamad Mustapha Ali Masfaka, a 47-year-old native of Syria, was arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection when he attempted to enter the United States from Canada via the Ambassador Bridge. Mr. Masfaka made his initial appearance in federal court in Detroit on an Indictment charging him with Attempted Naturalization Fraud, False Statements, and Perjury. Joining in the announcement was Brian Moskowitz, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Office of Investigations for Ohio and Michigan...

Gov. Bill Richardson's office wouldn't answer Journal questions this week regarding the governor's whereabouts and whether he was working in state or traveling outside New Mexico. Turns out Journal reporters weren't the only people left out of the loop. Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, who is supposed to be in charge of state government when the governor is out of state, said Wednesday morning that she didn't know where Richardson was [and] had only a vague idea of when he would be returning. So are privacy concerns enough to keep his schedule from Denish, too?

It's birthday time for the Rail Runner Express commuter rail service — today marks the first anniversary of the train's service between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Officials say that since the Santa Fe service started, the train has carried 1,372,000 passengers, a daily average of about 4,400. But fares still don't account for much of the Rail Runner's operating budget. Rail Runner spokeswoman Augusta Meyers said out of last fiscal year's $21 million operating budget for the train, about $1.9 million came from ticket sales. Most of the money, about $17 million, was from the federal government's Congestion Mitigation and...

New Mexicans should brace for tax increases in 2010, Gov. Bill Richardson warned Monday. "It's inevitable," Richardson told a news conference in the state Capitol. "It's very painful." Richardson ruled out tax hikes during a recent special legislative session called to deal with a projected $650 million state deficit for this year. His remarks Monday represented his strongest words to date on the likelihood of increasing taxes during the regular session that begins in January. Reaction to Richardson's remarks were mixed. Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, agreed with Richardson and said tax loopholes should be closely scrutinized. "We should remember that...

Today is Halloween, but Gov. Bill Richardson has been running around as Dr. Doom all week. Richardson is upset the Legislature approved a 7.6 percent cut in funding for most of his agencies as a means to help address a $650 million budget deficit. Day after day this week, in a well-orchestrated public-relations campaign, Richardson and other administration officials warned of dire consequences ... Senior citizens will go hungry, poor children will go without medical care, state parks will be shut, two prisons will be closed and hundreds of criminals will be set loose to prey on you, the administration...

WASHINGTON -- Internal investigations into the conduct of over two dozen House members have been exposed in an extraordinary, Internet-era breach of security involving the secretive process by which Congress polices lawmaker ethics. Revelations of the mostly preliminary inquiries by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct — also known as the Ethics committee — and a panel that refers cases to it shook the chamber as lawmakers were immersed in a series of scheduled votes Thursday. The panel announced that it was investigating two California Democrats — Reps. Maxine Waters and Laura Richardson — even as its embarrassed...

Early Release for 660 Inmates a Possibility A pair of New Mexico prisons would be closed and as many as 660 inmates released before completing their full prison terms if a budget-cutting bill passed last week   by state lawmakers is signed into law, state officials said Wednesday.    -SNIP-    Richardson told reporters Wednesday that he’s concerned   closing the prisons could raise public safety issues and criticized lawmakers for approving state agency cuts during last week’s special session that average 7.6 percent.   -SNIP-    Between 530 and 660 inmates could be released early, about 10 percent of the state’s...

Health officials have confirmed that a fifth person, a 16-year-old, has died from the swine flu in Dallas County. WFAA-TV reported that the teen was a student at Berkner High School in Richardson. A Richardson school district spokesperson could not immediately be reached for comment this morning.

SANTA FE, N.M. - Gov. Bill Richardson spent almost $139,000 for dinners and receptions at the governor's mansion last year, entertaining thousands of guests including movie stars George Clooney and Robert Duvall. A discretionary expense account covers the costs of the events. Spending from the fund was up 63 percent from 2007, when the governor campaigned for the Democratic presidential nomination and traveled extensively outside of New Mexico. Expenditures totaled $138,925 in 2008, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press in response to a public records request. That is up from $85,197 in 2007 from $109,486 in 2006....

ELEPHANT BUTTE LAKE, N.M. (KRQE) - One mariner knew a collision with his own boat could not be avoided as a large houseboat with Gov. Bill Richardson aboard and an aide at the helm tried to dock Saturday at an Elephant Butte Lake marina. No one was hurt in the 5:15 p.m. incident that damaged three boats and the marina. However Brian Condit, Richardson's chief of staff, was cited for negligent operation of the houseboat Bloody Mary. Richardson told KRQE News 13 Wednesday that he was napping at the time. "I think it's important that we get the facts out,"...

ALBUQUERQUE - Attorney General Eric Holder avoided reporters seeking comment about his agency's decision not to bring charges against Gov. Bill Richardson and former top aides in an alleged pay-to-play scheme. Holder was in Albuquerque to give the keynote speech Thursday at the Hispanic National Bar Association's annual convention.

For New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, last Friday was long in coming — the day a federal prosecutor announced that after nearly a year investigating alleged corruption in the awarding of state contracts, he had wrapped up the case without any indictments. The investigation had cast a cloud over Richardson, scuttling a job in the Obama Cabinet and putting in doubt his political future. But even as Richardson and his allies proclaimed his “vindication” and predicted it would catapult him back onto the national stage, the prosecutor handling the case wouldn’t let the matter fade. U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt fired...

For New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, last Friday was long in coming — the day a federal prosecutor announced that after nearly a year investigating alleged corruption in the awarding of state contracts, he had wrapped up the case without any indictments. The investigation had cast a cloud over Richardson, scuttling a job in the Obama Cabinet and putting in doubt his political future. But even as Richardson and his allies proclaimed his “vindication” and predicted it would catapult him back onto the national stage, the prosecutor handling the case wouldn’t let the matter fade. U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt fired...

The wailing and gnashing of teeth on both sides of the political aisle over last week's nonindictment of Gov. Bill Richardson and two former aides is to be expected in a state lacking the rich tradition of political corruption prosecutions they have in places like Illinois or New Jersey. Here in the Land of Enchantment, we're not used to the sharp elbows and eye gouging that accompany such matters. From comments coming from both sides, we don't even know the rules of these contests. And trust me, there are rules. Republicans are complaining that the Justice Department in Washington, D.C.,...

This much is still certain: Hundreds of political donors to Bill Richardson have received government jobs, contracts and other favorable treatment during his 6 1/2 years as governor. Some of those campaign contributors have been enriched by millions of dollars. Those facts are unchanged by the Justice Department's decision not to pursue criminal charges against Richardson or his aides in the case of one government contractor that made political donations. Acting U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said that pressure from the Governor's Office "resulted in the corruption of the procurement process" and that nonprosecution "should not be interpreted as exoneration of...

(English-language translation) HAVANA (AP) — The United States should implement the announced permission for Cuban-Americans to travel to Cuba, and the island should respond by eliminating exit restrictions on its citizens, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson recommended. This was one among a list of suggestions the American devised during his visit to the island, which ended on Friday. "There is a very good environment, the best I have seen in many years," Richardson stated in relation to a possible approach between the two countries. According to the governor, "humanitarian" steps should be taken to stimulate links between people [involved] in...

SANTA FE, N.M. – New Mexico's top federal prosecutor confirmed Friday that no charges will be brought against Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson and his former top aides after a probe of an alleged pay-to-play scheme prompted him to withdraw his nomination as U.S. commerce secretary. But U.S. Attorney Greg Fouratt said the decision not to bring charges "is not to be interpreted as an exoneration of any party's conduct." In a letter sent to defense attorneys, Fouratt said a yearlong federal investigation "revealed that pressure from the governor's office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process" so that state...