Another Day, Another Federal Investigation Involving The Obama Administration
This time it’s Obama’s just-appointed commerce secretary (and former NM governor Bill Richardson) who is under investigation for possibly selling government property on the cheap in return for campaign contributions.
Among other things.
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 others.
NBC’s Lisa Myers reports that two former state officials say they’ve recently been questioned by a federal grand jury specifically about allegations that Richardson or aides pushed state business worth nearly $1.5 million in fees toward CDR Financial Products in 2004. The company is headquartered in Beverly Hills.
This was about the same time as CDR’s founder, Rubin, donated $100,000 to two of Richardson’s political action committees; mainly it appears to cover expenses of the governor and his staff at the Democratic Party’s National Convention in Boston that summer.
Rubin also donated another $29,000 to Richardson’s unsuccessful presidential campaign this year and last.
Seriously though, just the other day I posted about how Obama was setting records in mixing it up with federal prosecutors before he’s even inaugurated. Now his administration has got two scandals on the tally, and he still hasn’t taken the oath.
Hope ‘n change!
