Bill Richardson’s nomination to be the next Commerce Secretary will likely face scrutiny during congressional hearings in February. But surprisingly it could be more than just the Wen Ho Lee affair.A grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into the New Mexico governor’s dealings with a California firm that received several lucratrive contracts. That in itself is not illegal, yet eyebrows have been raised since the head of CDR Financial Products contributed heavily to Richardson’s political activities. One of these “activities” allegedly includes a Latino registration campaign.
According to the AP:
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…Richardson may not be the only Obama nominee likely to face criticism by Congress; prospective Attorney General Eric Holder may be grilled over his role in the Elian Gonzalez case.
Richardson served as chairman of the Boston convention, and the committee, Si Se Puede! Boston 2004 Inc., helped pay convention expenses for Richardson's staff and supporters. The contribution was reported by the committee as coming from Chambers, Dunhill, Rubin and Co., a former name for CDR.
Image- UPI
Sources- The Latin Americanist, MSNBC, New York Times, AsianWeek, Bloomberg, Guanabee
CDR's office in Beverly Hills was raided by the FBI about a year ago..I wonder if it was related to this investigation.
ReplyDeleteThis CDR Financial grand jury investigation may finally bring Gov. Bill Richardson down. His arrogance is incredulous. CDR was linked in an Alabama corruption probe and Richardson still stuck his finger into the CDR pot. For more details on this investigation, see http://nobillrichardson.blogspot.com/2008/12/grand-jury-investigates-richardson.html
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