I hear there are some little gray dudes in Roswell New Mexico who specialize in putting probes behind.
Posted on 09/03/2009 11:16:12 AM PDT by nickcarraway
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 off a letter to defense lawyers asserting the inquiry "revealed that pressure from the governor's office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process,” holding out the possibility of reconvening an investigation and stressing that the decision not to charge Richardson “is not to be interpreted as an exoneration of any party's conduct.”
Now, as Richardson attempts to reassume the national and international stage — he recently hosted a delegation of North Koreans in the state and traveled to Cuba on a trade mission — he and his allies are lashing out at the prosecutor. And they have a point, according to some legal experts.
If Fouratt thought he had a case, he should have filed charges, but if he didn’t, he should have let the investigation end without comment, said Stan Brand, a top Washington defense attorney. “Put up or shut up,” said Brand, who called the letter “a cheap shot.”
Mike McKay, who served as U.S. attorney for the Western District of Washington state under President George H.W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, called Fouratt’s letter “virtually unprecedented. It reflects extremely poor judgment.”
“The very existence of federal criminal investigations is not supposed to be disclosed,” he said, citing the potential damage to the subjects’ reputations. “And certainly for the same reasons, you don’t disclose closed investigations,” he said.
Both McKay and Brand said they expected President Barack Obama to replace Fouratt, much as he’s done with other U.S. Attorney holdovers from the Bush administration. Brand said Obama was probably waiting for the Richardson case to conclude before proceeding, out of concern that replacing Fouratt mid-investigation could appear to be an effort to quash the inquiry.
Richardson’s office issued a statement calling Fouratt’s letter “wrong on the facts” and “nothing more than sour grapes.” And Steve Murphy, who was a top adviser to Richardson’s 2006 reelection campaign and his 2008 bid for the Democratic presidential nomination, called the letter “a disgraceful, politically motivated statement.” Murphy asserted the letter wouldn’t prevent Richardson from putting the investigation behind him but also suggested the governor might wage a PR offensive of sorts.
“I don’t think there will be any long-term damage,” said Murphy, who keeps in touch with Richardson. “But I wouldn’t be surprised now if we heard a little bit more about how Bill Richardson feels about this, especially in light of that inexorable statement.”
Richardson’s deputy chief of staff Gilbert Gallegos declined to make his boss available for an interview. “Gov. Richardson is not inclined to comment any more on this,” Gallegos said Wednesday, adding Richardson that “wants to put this behind him and focus all of his energy on resolving New Mexico’s budget deficit and enacting the final set of education reform initiatives before leaving office.”
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Mexico declined to comment about either the letter or the yearlong investigation, which focused on whether Richardson or his staff steered a pair of state contracts worth about $1.4 million to a California company founded by a Richardson donor named David Rubin.
The investigation seemed to be a boon for national Republicans, who saw the makings of a fundraising scandal that could ensnare not just Richardson, but also potentially the Obama administration and the powerful Democratic Governors Association. Rubin, a major Democratic benefactor, contributed $100,000 to Richardson’s political groups, and he also gave $10,000 to the DGA in the months before Richardson began a two-term chairmanship in 2005 and 2006.
A grand jury in October subpoenaed Richardson’s office seeking records related to interactions with — and campaign contributions to — the DGA, as well as correspondence with Michael Stratton, a longtime Richardson ally who was paid $255,000 by the DGA from 2003 to 2006, according to the DGA’s IRS filings.
Though Richardson and his staff had long asserted their innocence, the governor cited the probe in January when he declined Obama's nomination to be commerce secretary, predicting it could “extend for several weeks or, perhaps, even months” and would distract from Obama’s agenda. It was a high-profile stumble for the administration and an embarrassing setback for Richardson, a former congressman who also served as energy secretary and U.N. ambassador under President Bill Clinton.
After the Cabinet disappointment, Richardson returned to New Mexico, damaged politically, according to Lonna Rae Atkeson, a political science professor at the University of New Mexico.
“He lost popularity in the state and he lost some clout in the legislative session — he was less of a player than usual,” said Atkeson. “And he retreated, generally. He kept himself away from the media, because he was going to get questions about [the investigation' and about pay to play, and that wasn’t going to help the Democratic Party’s agenda or Obama’s agenda. But now that this is over and pushed away, I think that he is going to be able to come back and basically reanimate himself and get a lot of national attention.”
In a statement issued last Thursday — before Fouratt’s letter became public — Gallegos said Richardson was “gratified that this yearlong investigation has ended with the vindication of his administration.” Gallegos praised Richardson for choosing “to remain silent and let the justice system run its course,” but conceded “patience was difficult while Gov. Richardson and his administration were being falsely accused and were the subject of rumors and speculation through the news media.”
A former Richardson aide who was not implicated in the investigation blasted the media for covering “the continuous rumors, false accusations and attacks from political opponents” and said “here's hoping his exoneration in this case gets as much coverage.”
The aide, who did not want to be identified discussing Richardson’s political future, pointed out that when Obama accepted Richardson’s withdrawal, the president said, “I look forward to his future service to our country and in my administration.”
The aide said, “I have no doubt that he will have a lot of good options after his term as governor has ended,” adding “his experience and accomplishments would make him an terrific Cabinet secretary.”
Richardson spent two years in the private sector between the end of the Clinton administration and his election as New Mexico’s governor, earning hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of directors’ fees and stock options. But a Democratic operative who has worked closely with Richardson predicted he would seek out a higher national profile during the 15 months remaining in his term as governor, then seek another job in the administration or an international organization.
If Richardson re-emerges as a major Obama surrogate, national Republicans can be expected to wield the investigation against him, but so far have been quiet. The state GOP, however, made clear it was still an issue. “While it is disappointing that Bill Richardson escaped indictment for actions which have been confirmed by the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” party chairman Harvey Yates Jr. said in a statement, “it is more disappointing that some are attempting to spin this news as an absolution of wrongdoing.”
IOW, he's a typical Democrat.
No news here.
Just a little info on Mr. Fouratt
“A veteran federal prosecutor has been named the new U.S. attorney for New Mexico by a panel of federal judges.
Greg Fouratt, 42, was sworn in Friday in Dallas. He had been in Oklahoma to argue a case.
The president normally appoints the U.S. attorney, but after determining that presidential action was not imminent, a majority of judges on the U.S. District Court in New Mexico voted to exercise their authority to make the appointment, Chief Judge Martha Vazquez said in a statement Friday”
NM Ping
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My EYES! My EYES!
Ugh. What has been seen cannot be unseen. That’s just downright uncivilized.
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