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What a train-wreck!

Richardson to withdraw as Commerce secretary - Politics- msnbc.com

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.

Buck Naked Politics: Bill Richardson: Unlucky Target in Pay-to-Play Investigation

Obama’s pick for Commerce Secretary, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, is apparently under investigation for corrupt activities. The Los Angeles Times reports:

LexisNexis News

NBC News Transcripts
SHOW: NBC Nightly News 6:30 PM EST NBC
December 23, 2008 Tuesday
427 words
Questions over Bill Richardson’s political contributions while governor
ANN CURRY
LISA MYERS

ANN CURRY, anchor:

The Obama team may have another problem on its hands: a growing investigation into New Mexico governor and former presidential candidate Bill Richardson, who is Obama’s choice for Commerce Secretary. At issue is whether there was a relationship between political contributions to Richardson and his actions as governor. More on this now from NBC’s chief–rather, senior investigative correspondent, Lisa Myers.

President-elect BARACK OBAMA: Secretary of commerce, my great friend, Governor Bill Richardson.

LISA MYERS reporting:

The allegations now being investigated by a federal grand jury involve whether Richardson as governor steered state bond business to a firm whose founder made substantial contributions to Richardson’s political action committee. Two former state officials involved in the bond deals told NBC News that they testified before a grand jury in Albuquerque last week. One official says prosecutors focused on whether Richardson or staff pushed to give business to CDR Financial Products. It specifically asked about what’s called pay to play.

Now, feds probe Gov. Richardson of Obama Cabinet for ‘pay-to-play’ - Los Angeles Times

It seems that Illinois’ legally challenged Gov. Rod Blagojevich is not the only close Barack Obama associate and Democratic governor being investigated by the feds for possibly selling government business in return for campaign contributions.

New Mexico’s Gov. Bill Richardson, who is the newly named Secretary of Commerce in Obama’s about-to-be Cabinet, is also being investigated by a federal grand jury in his home state for possibly steering state bond business from the New Mexico Financial Authority toward David Rubin, a significant campaign contributor, according to an NBC News report, among other

Gee…. here is a real shocker

Al Jazeera English - Americas - Obama cleared in governor scandal

An internal probe has cleared Barack Obama and his transition team of any inappropriate contacts with the Illinois governor accused of plotting to sell off the US president-elect’s senate seat.

obama, blago, al jazeera, craig, crime, Blagojevich

What a difference a candidate makes. TPM hackery on full display.

Funny how when a report cleared Governor Sarah Palin of any wrongdoing on bogus accusations Talking Points Memo and the rest of the nutroots cried foul because one report was done by the Governors office.

Talking Points Memo | Election Eve Info “Dump”

It’s fitting that the McCain-Palin campaign ends with a couple of politically motivated pretend nods to transparency.

First Sarah Palin’s own personnel board released a report earlier this evening clearing her in the Trooper-Gate investigation. Nice timing.

Now Palin has released a letter from her personal physician proclaiming her to be in good health and fit to serve — instead of releasing her medical records, which she’d promised to do days ago.

They see fit to do this on the night before the election?

(As a side note, the McCain camp press release is titled “GOVERNOR SARAH PALIN RELEASES MEDICAL HISTORY SUMMARY.” But it appears all they released was that letter (.pdf). Over at The Page, that morphs into the headline: “PALIN RELEASES MEDICAL RECORDS.” A letter becomes a summary becomes medical records.)

Now today, with their own report, Barack Obama clears himself and his Chief of Staff to be Rahm Emanuel, the same Talking Points Memo and nutroots are shouting from their laptops that all is well on this night before Christmas Eve document dump, prepared by and released by team Obama itself.

Talking Points Memo | Read It Yourself

We have the Obama team’s report on its contacts with Blago posted here.

TPM Election Central | Talking Points Memo | Obama Team Releases Blago Report

The Obama transition team has now released its much-awaited internal report on staff contacts with Rod Blagojevich and his own office, saying that members of the transition team did not behave improperly.

What a joke.

Daily Kos puts on the Media Matters mask. One could make an argument that Obama was “out of the country” but I challange anyone to make an argument that there are “57 states” in the United States.

Daily Kos: Conservative Blogger Needs Geography Lesson

MSNBC anchor Tamron Hall points out to conservative blogger Matt Lewis that Barack Obama would not be on vacation in Hawaii if he needed to be in Chicago to do damage control on the Blago report being released tomorrow.

After conceding that the report was likely to be no big deal, Lewis offers up a tin foil theory explaining Obama’s vacation: “You could make an argument,” Lewis says, “that if he wants it to appear to not be a big deal, that he would be out of the country.”

Now I know it’s fashionable on the right to claim that Obama isn’t American, but someone really needs to tell Lewis that Hawaii is actually part of the United States — it’s not some foreign land. Just ask anyone about Pearl Harbor.

Gee….where was the Daily Kos post calling out Barack Obama…their “chosen one”, when he claimed that America was comprised of 57 states?

nutroots, blogs, obama, daily kos, hawaii, geography, 57 ststes, Matt Lewis

How long before the same Obama ass kissing media and far left nutroots who claim there is NO WAY Obama could have a thing to do with the Blagojevich scandal try and tie Alaska Governor Sarah Palin to racist emails sent by Alaska state employees?

AP NewsBreak: Alaska investigates racist e-mails - Yahoo! News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Alaska officials are investigating racist jokes about President-elect Barack Obama that have been circulating on state government e-mail accounts.

Barack Obama and the Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich senate seat scandal.
Rahm Emanuel looks to be neck deep in this scandal by at least 21 taped phone calls between Emanuel and Blagojevich;

Rahm’s calls on tape :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Michael Sneed

Barack Obama’s chief of staff, Rahm Emanuel, is reportedly on 21 different taped conversations by the feds — dealing with his boss’ vacant Senate seat!

A lot of chit-chat?

How deep in is Obama?

Blagojevich, crime, obama, democrats, scandal, fbi, taped, phone calls, emanuel, video

Wow….. when Barack Obama said “change” who knew it meant having the most corrupt cabinet to ever enter the White House!

“Pay To Play” Probe Hits New Mexico, Washington Post: Gov. Bill Richardson’s Office Investigated Over Political Contributor’s $1.4M State Contracts

A federal grand jury is investigating whether a financial firm improperly won more than $1.4 million in work for the state of New Mexico shortly after making contributions to political action committees of Gov. Bill Richardson (D).

The probe focuses on whether the governor’s office urged a state agency to hire CDR Financial Products. The probe is in a highly active stage at a time when President-elect Barack Obama has chosen Richardson as his nominee for secretary of commerce, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

First Rahm Emanuel now Bill Richardson, how many members of team Obama will be under investigation before entering the White House?

Gov. Bill Richardson as Commerce Secretary-designate - Change.gov: The Obama-Biden Transition Team

President-elect Barack Obama announced he has asked Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico to join his administration as Secretary of Commerce.

obama, crime, scandal, richardson, new mexico, CDR

Will Rahm Emanuel be forced to resign as President Obama’s Chief of Staff before he ever even officially move into the position?

No taint seen on Prez-elect, but Rahm Emanuel gave a wishlist for Senate

President-elect Barack Obama’s right-hand man reportedly gave the disgraced Blagojevich administration a list of four women Obama considered acceptable to fill his U.S. Senate seat.

Rahm Emanuel, the Illinois congressman who will serve as Obama’s White House chief of staff, was heard discussing the issue on court-approved wiretaps with Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s chief of staff, the Chicago Tribune said.

TPM would be the place where convicted felon and laft wing partisian hack John Dean would go to post an open letter to Barack Obama how to not look so guilty in the Governor Blagojevich / Senate seat scandal.

Talking Points Memo | Open Letter to President-Elect Obama

I am writing with a suggestion that might help to remove you and your new administration from the still metastasizing scandal of Governor Blagojevich trying to sell your senate seat. Needless to say, until the news media is satisfied that you and your new administration have no complicity in this matter, they will continue to focus on it. Because of my own personal experience with Watergate, the mother of modern presidential scandals, not to mention being a student of scandals that followed, I speak as someone who learned the hard way by making mistakes and then watched as others made their own similar and unnecessary blunders.

It may be hard for Obama to “remove” himself from the Blagojevich scandal if he and or his newly appointed cabinet members like David Axelrod or Rahm Emanuel are directly involved .

Report: Emanuel talked to Blago about seat - UPI.com

White House chief of staff-designate Rahm Emanuel spoke to Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich about President-elect Barack Obama’s Senate seat, sources say.

Emuanel spoke to Blagojevich about who would be acceptable to Obama as a replacement for him in the U.S. Senate, which the Illinois governor has the right to appoint to fill out the term, Saturday’s Chicago Tribune quoted unnamed sources as saying.

Not that we were ever torturing anybody but that’s beside the point.

Seems now that “the chosen one” Barack Obama has been elected president democrats like Diane Feinstein are turning off their crocodile tears of torture.

Swampland - TIME.com » Blog Archive Interrogation Policy Still A Bit Shadowy «

Now Feinstein is set to take over the Senate Intelligence Committee. And the next president, Barack Obama, is a man who supported the Army Field Manual bill. So everything should be pretty open and shut, right?

The answer is no. Read closely this passage from today’s New York Times.

Democrats like war profiteer Diane Feinstein are a disgrace.

War profiteering - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Center for Public Integrity has reported that US Senator Dianne Feinstein and her husband, Richard Blum, are making millions of dollars from Iraq and Afghanistan contracts through his company, Perini.

iraq, obama, democrats, feinstein, torture, cia