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January 4, 2009
Richardson Withdraws as Commerce Nominee
The Wall Street Journal
by Jonathan Weisman
What does Bill Richardson have to do with Atlantic Yards? Forest City Enterprises was one of the biggest donors to the presidential campaign of the erstwhile nominee for Secretary of Commerce, and New Mexico is home to the company's giant Mesa del Sol project.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson withdrew his nomination as President-elect Barack Obama's commerce secretary Sunday, citing a federal grand-jury investigation into a "pay to play" scheme in his home state, Obama transition officials said.
Just days ago, Republican Senate aides said they didn't believe the investigation of CDR Financial Products would be a major impediment to Mr. Richardson's confirmation. But the probe appears to be heating up. Mr. Richardson hired a personal lawyer last month and in mid-December, the grand jury began taking testimony from a slew of witnesses.
The grand jury is investigating how the company won more than $1.5 million in work advising the state of New Mexico after making contributions to Mr. Richardson's political action committees. The "pay-to-play" investigation is trying to determine whether the governor's office had any role in the contracting decisions.
NoLandGrab: Might the grand jury take a gander at the arrows connecting Richardson, Forest City and Mesa del Sol, too? Regardless, FCE is losing a friend at Commerce.
Posted by eric at January 4, 2009 4:40 PM