- ‹ previous
- 1913 of 8902
- next ›
Why Did Obama's Transition Team Ignore Bill Richardson's Long History of Dubious Dealings?
The wreck of Bill Richardson, who withdrew earlier today as President-elect Obama's nominee for Commerce Secretary, surely should have been anticipated by the Obama vetters. As previously reported by Mother Jones, the New Mexico governor has, over the last decade, left behind a wide trail of questionable business dealings, many of them involving the energy industry.
Obama's transition team apparently chose to ignore these past whiffs of scandal. They also seem to have been unfazed by the current federal investigation into a possible pay-to-play scandal, which was already well underway when Richardson's nomination was announced on December 3. Within two weeks of the nomination, the media was widely reportingthat Richardson was the subject of a grand jury probe in a "highly active stage."
Richardson insists that he and his administration "have acted properly in all matters" and that he is withdrawing his name from consideration only because "the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process." But the accusations are pretty damning. The Washington Post reports:
The probe in New Mexico involves questions about a California firm, CDR Financial Products, and its president, David Rubin. The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into whether the firm was given a contract with the New Mexico Finance Authority because of pressure from Richardson. CDR made $1.48 million advising the authority on interest-rate swaps and refinancing of funds related to $1.6 billion in transportation bonds issued by the agency, state officials confirmed.The firm and Rubin together gave $100,000 to two Richardson organizations shortly before winning those contracts.
Back in July 2007, when Richardson was a contender for the Democratic nomination, and was also being discussed as a possible vice-presidential pick for Hillary Clinton, I reported here on the considerable baggage Richardson carried when it came to his relationships in the private sector:
At the close of the Clinton administration, Richardson signed on as a senior managing director with Kissinger McLarty Associates, the advisory firm formed by Henry Kissinger and former Clinton chief of staff Mack McLarty, and promptly joined the boards of three large oil companies: Houston-based Diamond Offshore Drilling, a company once run by George Herbert Walker Bush; Denver-based Venoco; and Valero, North America's largest independent refinery. Until recently, Richardson held Valero stock worth between $100,001 and $250,000 and options valued between $250,001 and $500,000, according to disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission. He divested himself of his stake in Valero in May, saying his financial ties to the company had become a "distraction" to his presidential campaign.
Though on the campaign trail he has come off as a staunch advocate of green energy, even proposing "a man-on-the-moon program" to address global warming and curb the nation's dependence on oil, his close ties to the oil industry would seem no small contradiction. Currently, he is one of the leading recipients of campaign contributions from oil and gas companies among the presidential contenders.
Professional pols might pass all this off as business as usual. But there were other questionable deals as well:
Beyond his coziness with the oil industry, Richardson was also caught up on the fringes of the Peregrine Systems scandal, a financial scam in the Enron style. Between February 2001 and June 2002 he served as on outside director on the board of Peregrine, a San Diego-based software company whose CEO, Stephen Gardner, was the brother-in-law of Richardson's wife. During this period of time the company's directors were engaged in various acts of financial impropriety, including masking the severity of Peregrine's losses with phony accounting. The company eventually went bankrupt and Gardner was later charged with obstruction of justice and securities fraud. When Richardson was asked about the Peregrine scandal during his gubernatorial campaign in 2002, he claimed to have had no involvement "because I was what was called an 'outside director" and "didn't have time" to read the company's corporate reports. But according to the San Diego Reader, "Records show that Richardson attended, in person or by phone, 15 board meetings. In those meetings, directors were hearing that the company might get caught cooking the books."
It may be premature to say that Obama and his team have too high a tolerance for corruption. But this first self-destruct among his cabinet picks could well prove all the more damaging because it's something they should have seen coming from miles away.
We can see Sam Huntington was right in his book Clash of Civilizations if we will only look and be rational. But too many are not prepared for logic or rational discourse and resort to hurling racist insults. If we are realistic and look at the havoc caused by the millions invading Hispanics on our communities, culture, crime, economy, welfare and standard of living the only conclusion possible is that no Nation can withstand or assimilate Millions of citizens from another culture without changing to the very same type of culture and society the invading millions have created, built and sustained for 100,s of years and are now fleeing in their own Countries!
We really need the infrastructure and construction jobs so we can put the millions of Illegal Aliens back to work, so they can send money home to support Mexico! The contractors can charge the tax payers union scale, hire Illegals at slave wages, pocket the profits, and hit the tax payers for both their wages and the billions in cost to educate their many children, provide medical and welfare.
Sounds like the same old scam, reward the invading horde and soak the tax payers! You would think the Politicians would be content with just outsourcing all the jobs that are possible but No they want to bring in Slave labor ( while ignoring Article IV Section IV of our Constitution against invasion, the rule of Law, and their Oath of office) to take the jobs that cannot be outsourced! To add insult to injury they make the American citizens still working pay billions in extra taxes to educate, provide medical, welfare and jail cells for the invading horde that are taking our jobs and driving down our standard of living! While keeping busy Robbing, Raping and Killing American citizens at an rate that Ben Laden can only dream about!
But the Republicans love the slave labor for their Pay Masters in the Chamber of Commerce and business. The Democrats love the millions of Welfare votes. So there is little or no hope for American citizens and the future viability of this nation as we know it.
The future is an over populated, Spanish speaking third world Nation that is an Cesspool of Corruption, Crime, Poverty and Misery modeled on Mexico!
I'd like to know what *would* have happened if Richardson had gotten further in the Presidential process. What if he were a leader in that race for the dems. Would HRC suddenly speak up? Would Barry O's team find out about his problems then?
The ability for a man to get that close to the Oval Office who is outwardly corrupt is truly shameful.
It seems to me Richardson, pushed or otherwise, did the right thing in withdrawing his nomination. Needless to say this article finds him guilty on all counts even though he's been charged with nothing. Let's not bother with presumptions of innocence or due process. In strictly political terms this will be forgotten by tomorrow and rates around a 3/100 on the nationa Concern-O-mometer along with other earth shattering stuff like the Warren prayer or that little crook Blagojevitch.
Richardson is a consummate liar. Remember his resume touting a stint in professional baseball? He was corrupt under Clinton (another upstanding slimeball). Suddenly the democrats appear as corrupt or more so than the GOP...
John- you talk about presumption of innocence for Richardson, yet call Blago a 'little crook'? Where is presumption of innocence for Blago?
Richardson should have stayed in if he is innocent, or he should be quickly impeached if guilty. He seems guilty because he withdrew his name, so I expect impeachment proceedings quickly in New Mexico. Would you agree?
The Democrats just like the Republicans have met the Culture of Corruption and have found it good!
Black Saint: Now you know just how the native indians indiginous to this continent faced when you the "horde" of illegal alliens from europe invaded the americas. Can their descentants, now relagated to obscurity borrow your reasoning?
WHY, MoJo asks, did Obama's transition team ignore Richardson's long history of dubious dealings? Perhaps for the same reasons that MoJo ignored and continued to ignore such dubious dealings by Obamessiah, along with his terrorist friends, rascist "mentors" and fraudulent financiers.
I am amazed that being on the board of an energy company automatically makes one corrupt. Talk about stereotyping in the worst possible way. The supermajor oil companies are surely arrogant but they do produce, refine and deliver an affordable product to four billion people every day. These networks should not be under-valued -- we will need them as we move to alternative energy. We are still going to have to provide energy to the planet and this is a task of immense proportions. Please don't accuse me of working for an oil company, I don't and never have. I am continually amazed at the ignorance of the public about the scale of the energy need and how difficult it is going to be to meet this need in the years ahead. We need everyone rowing in the same boat if we are going to solve our problems, including oil companies however transformed they might be in the future.
Also,the assumption that Richardson backed out because he is guilty indicates a lack of understanding of Governor Richardson's sensitivity to the Obama's incoming administration. It was best for Obama, period. Richardson may have an uncomfortable few months but don't forget he is being hounded by the US attorney that replaced David Iglesias, fired at the request of Senator Domenici and Rep. Wilson because he was not moving fast enough in his prosecution (persecution) of Democrats.
The Richardson appointment as Commerce Secretary as all about the 30 pieces of silver that Bill "Judas" Richardson received from the Obama campaign for betraying his decades long relationship to the Clinton's, as well as breaking his weeks old promise to Bill Clinton on Super Bowl Sunday that Richardson would not endorse Obama.
A guy like that can never be trusted, either by the public, or in politics.
Good riddance.
Wow, Gianelli: Obama campaign as Romans ... Richardson former lover-of-Clintons-turned-Judas ... are you implying that the Clintons are stand-ins for Jesus? In a MoJo comments section about national politics? A bit of a stretch, but the effort is appreciated.
I am a Richardson fan who is only getting up to speed on these accusations since the presidential elections began. Given that we expected Obama to tap Richardson, he did. Had he not, Obama would have been held responsible for overlooking a highly talented favored son among Democrats and Latinos. This way, Richardson is responsible for his own demise. Obama couldn't be this strategic, could he?
While Richardson's fiasco is just now hitting the mainstream media, this was obviously a situation that didn't happen just last week or even last month. Why was the media so quiet? And if they sheltered an also-ran like Richardson from scrutiny, how much further were they willing to go for their Chosen One? I truly hope I am wrong because the nation does not need another scandalous presidency, especially from a Democrat. But it is beginning to look like the Chicago political machine that spawned Blagojevich also dabbled in producing Obama. I just have to wonder, given the media's worship of all things Obama, if there are questionable issues down the road if they will shelter him from blame. Lord knows they have created more false issues about Bush than reporting real ones. I can only assume that they would be reticent in regard to reporting any malfeasance or ethical faux pas on the part of the Obama administration.
Change we can believe in.
No one was more crooked or tainted than Truman, and he was PDG.
Hardly more corrupt than the GOP. Maybe a first runner-up.
Why Did Obama's Transition Team Ignore Bill Richardson's Long History of Dubious Dealings?
Er, because they needed to nominate a Latino to a prominent cabinet post? That's my (admittedly cynical) views. I suspect they even knew full well there was a possibility they'd have to dump him -- and so they monitored the situation carefully to insure that, if it came to that, they'd do the dumping well before the inauguration. All this said, I like Richardson and hope he's fully cleared of any wrongdoing.
Billie the Crook Richardson's true nature was exposed when the Monica Lewinski scandal hit the news. He was in a Limo with her trying to buy her off for Slick Willie and Hillary and maybe "get some action on the side."
The timing was critical and he, the US Ambasador to the United Nations (UN] was offering Monica a high-level job at the UN to keep her from blabbing about her affair with William Jefferson "Slick Willie" Clinton.
The Press did not investigate the Clintons ,Richardson or Obama prior to their national elections.
What are we going to find out next?
Hillary wasn't named after Sir Edmund Hillary eight years before he climbed Mt Everest and Billy the Kid Richardson wasn't drafted by a major league baseball team out of college?
The mainstream press is not doing its duty exposing lying crooked politicians.
I am not a big fan the current President, but Bush had one of his administration involved in a scandal and convicted during eight years. Five plus with Slick Willie. Obama 3 scandals and not yet in office.
Well, before the bees get inside the hive, the honey start to get sour. Bye bye Honeymoon
The Democrats are monopolizing everything. Can't they wait until Obama gets sworn in before continuing their monopoly?
Seriously? Corruption existed long before the Republicans had control of Congress and the Presidency. Remember Rome? Corruption (greed) is non-partisan and blind. Or maybe it's impossible to imagine that Democrats are human too, are sometimes corrupt and greedy? Get a life...
Black Saint is a complete idiot. He should return to the place his white european ancestors came from. Where everybody looks exactly like him. Where they marry only between their own in order to breed morons like him.
Why has Richardson's mismanagement of Los Alamos been overlooked. Under his adminsittration every one walked out with everything but the paint on the wall.
This guy has ALWAYS been the stupidest guy on the planet. Now he's a CROOK, as well. A lot of these DEMOCRAT CROOKS floating around. It's a shame that we don't have a functioning PRESS, in this country.
Richardson also upset the Chinese community when he trashed that Taiwanese-American scientist who was later proven innocent. He insinuated that all Chinese were spies. They will be overjoyed that he has pulled out of the Commerce chair.
Richardson's pay-for-play demise causes me to wonder why I haven't seen anything in the blogosphere about Charlie Savage's article in Sunday's NYT exposing a Billary Clinton pay-to-play deal with an upstate NY developer. Are we just so sick of Clinton scandals that we don't want to discuss another one and we'll give Hillary yet another (cattle futures) pass?
The Constant Weader at RealityChex.com
The next four years will go to prove what anyone who thought about it for even a second would know: Democrats are every bit as corrupt as Republicans, especially with control of both the executive and legislative branches. There's not a bit of difference between the two parties. Who gets held more accountable, that's a different question...
Richardson would sell American workers down the tubes. For it is about profit over people, no matter who is in charge.
blackcoptermedia.com real views.
Ha ha ha,,, you know the name of this, is "Reconquista". You took our territory in the XIX Century, and now we will take it back in the XXI. Viva Mexico cabrones.
I like Richardson and believe he isn't going to be found guilty of anything. Where do you people get off. the Pay for Play "accusations" have no merit, its just that, an accusation. It seems to me that the media dredges up any slight degree of association to anything and spins it so that nobody in the world would be free of taint or accusations from anything. Like the Obama Ayers tie that was never really there. Soon no one in the country will jump into politics because...maybe back in high school they knew someone who turned corrupt. Sheesh!
When the Richardson issue came down, I saw that he had withdrew his name, and the story quickly died. Now - as a radical right wing extremist that I am (ie, conservative), I was not surprised that the media would focus little attention on a democrat scandal. Imagine my pleasant surprise when I learned that Mother Jones provided detail in a well written post that educated me on exactly what happened.
Kudo's to Mother Jones, and the author. People's opinions do not have to get in the way of principle, and the author and this website showed that they are willing to report on an issue like this, instead of burying it like most of the other media did.
A heartfelt 'thank you' for educating me and giving me knowledge I did not have before.
I voted for Clinton in 1992 and 1996, but I think that if Hillary Clinton had been the nominee last year she might well have lost because of the fanatical Clinton haters out there; besides, if she'd been elected it would essentially have been a third term for Bill.
I'm tired of dynastic government, so thank goodness Ma and Pa Clinton didn't win
the nomination.
Typ. Whitey
YOU ARE JUST A REDNECK DUMMY LIKE THE REST OF THE GOP IDIOTS>
beenrolled
Are you sure you have been rolled? sounds mor like you been had..ie born with no brains and writing like a moron.Change your name to JERHHEAD
Notice how nothing is mentioned here that this same guy (Rubin) from CDR who gave money to Richardson, also gave to Obama.
Frankly I'm more concerned about Hillary and her Husband's foundation. How is obtaining donations from foreign governments not a conflict with being Secretary of State? You tell me which one is worse
wow
All these facts are very
All these facts are very interesting!
thank you for this nice
thank you for this nice article..thanx more
شات مجلة حواء مسجات منتديات عالم حواء العاب بنات العاب