http://www.asianweek.com/2009/01/01/no-redemption-for-bill-richardson/
Don’t forget him: Wen Ho Lee is 2008’s person of the year
I know, Lee made news back in 1999. But people forget, and they need to remember. That’s especially true now that Lee’s main tormentor, Bill Richardson — the former energy secretary under Clinton and now governor of New Mexico — has been named President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for secretary of commerce.
Richardson is relevant again. And so is Lee. Yet to my surprise, nearly ten years after Lee’s sordid treatment at the hands of Richardson, the media and the U.S. government, Lee’s name barely seems to register with anyone. Not with mainstream society or media. Not with Barack Obama. Not even with the Asian American community as a whole.
For Asian Americans (the majority of whom backed Obama), the Richardson nomination can be seen as the most serious transgression against Asian Americans in some time.
Richardson may be considered in political circles as the “Latinos’ Latino,” but to Asian Americans he remains the perpetrator of one of the worst racial profiling cases in America before 9-11.
Some of you recognize that. A few have gone to wenholee.org to sign an online petition against Richardson’s nomination. But it seems more people are sympathetic to the indignity suffered by American Idol’s William Hung rather than the injustice endured by Wen Ho Lee.
Who He Lee?
Just repeating the facts makes one cringe. Lee was the naturalized citizen from Taiwan who became a prominent American nuclear scientist. He was falsely suspected by the United States of being a spy for China, then subjected to nine months in solitary confinement.
If the consequences were only limited to Lee, I wouldn’t be surprised at how quickly it’s been forgotten. But as Lee’s fate worsened, so did Asian Americans’. In the pre-Sept. 11 world, nothing was considered more dangerous to the American way of life than an Asian American student/professor/high-tech worker with ties to China. The suspicion was entirely based on race, and it was official. It was a de facto APA witch-hunt set off by Richardson’s green light: the xenophobic targeting of Lee as a spy.
To be responsible for all that is no small deed. As the 20th Century came to a close with America becoming more and more diverse, Richardson found a way to use fear of Asians to whip up hysteria against Asian Americans not seen since World War II. For his role, Richardson deserves at least a yellow, if not scarlet, letter.
Instead, Richardson has neither been shunned nor dishonored. After a brief stint as chief executive of New Mexico, he is poised to become a major player in the “cabinet of change.”
Where is Richardson’s accountability? Where is his place in America’s racial hall of shame? It is the same place where you’ll find the respect for Asian Americans by the American political class. Nowhere.
Don’t misunderstand Lee’s silence
While Richardson maintains his prominence, Lee’s fall was hard and permanent. His scientific career lost, Lee now lives in quiet obscurity in Northern California. His daughter Alberta communicated that the family prefers to stay “above the fray.”
But don’t take that as your cue to be silent. It may be your sign to continue a broader fight for justice for Lee and the entire Asian American community.
Consider that in 2000, after all he went through, Lee was released without ever being charged with espionage. His lone crime? A lowly charge of mishandling computer files. For all he went through, Lee got an apology from the presiding federal judge, and even from Bill Clinton. But nothing came from Richardson.
Prior to his release, Lee filed a lawsuit in 1999 alleging that Clinton officials disclosed to the media that he was under investigation. Lee’s claim was neither about race nor discrimination, but simply about privacy. It would have crystallized Richardson’s culpability.
But in 2006, the government and five media organizations paid for Lee’s silence. Lee got an unprecedented $1.6 million settlement from the United States, The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times, ABC News and the Associated Press. The government gave Lee $895,000 of your tax dollars to drop the suit on the condition that the money would cover legal fees and not personal damages.
The media organizations came up with $750,000, the only money he gained personally. That’s chump change for what Lee went through. But the media willingly paid it to protect its leakers. Hmm, could that have been Richardson?
Chu’s no salve
Obama knew he would catch some heat from Asian Americans on Richardson. So to balance Richardson, there’s Shinseki to Veterans’ Affairs and Steve Chu to Richardson’s old post at the Department of Energy.
Both are qualified non-affirmative action appointees. The choice of Nobel laureate Chu may also be a sign to all APAs in the scientific community that these are different times from when Richardson ran the department. Unfortunately, the appointments do nothing to hold Richardson accountable for his past.
If Richardson’s appointment flies through the Senate unchallenged, it will be a big blow to all justice-loving Americans. But for Asian Americans in particular, it will be the stripping of any moral authority we might have gained from Lee’s martyrdom.
There’s still time to let the president-elect know that this case still matters, and that we haven’t forgotten the time when APAs were singled out and looked upon with suspicion. If Richardson isn’t held accountable and soon, here is my New Year’s prediction for the future: There will be another Wen Ho Lee.
For your New Year greeting and other thoughts, see the blog at amok.asianweek.com. E-mail: emil@amok.com
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Petition Against Bill Richardson
Please sign this petition against President-elect Obama's nomination of Gov. Bill Richardson to be his Secretary of Commerce. Even though the nomination is now official, we want to continue to collect signatures showing our opposition. Thank you.
http://www.petitiononline.com/GovBillR/petition.html
Bill Richardson summarily fired WHL without due process, ruining Lee's career and reputation and is widely believed to be responsible for leaking WHL's name to the press. Congressional Records state that his Energy Department requested solitary confinement and shackling of WHL, something Amnesty International called "unnecessarily punitive and contravene international human rights standards". Judge Parker specifically named the Department of Energy for misleading him in his open court apology to Wen Ho Lee. These three articles clearly show Dr. Lee was innocent and that he was singled out because of his Chinese ethnicity:
Here are more reasons why Gov. Richardson should not be confirmed by the Senate, besides his bungling of the Wen Ho Lee case.
http://www.petitiononline.com/GovBillR/petition.html
Bill Richardson summarily fired WHL without due process, ruining Lee's career and reputation and is widely believed to be responsible for leaking WHL's name to the press. Congressional Records state that his Energy Department requested solitary confinement and shackling of WHL, something Amnesty International called "unnecessarily punitive and contravene international human rights standards". Judge Parker specifically named the Department of Energy for misleading him in his open court apology to Wen Ho Lee. These three articles clearly show Dr. Lee was innocent and that he was singled out because of his Chinese ethnicity:
▸ Jude Wanniski memo to Bob Novak, Aug 9, 1999, Recapping the China Spy Story
▸ Bob Drogin, Sep 13, 2000, How FBI's Flawed Case Against Lee Unraveled
▸ Robert Scheer, Oct 23, 2000, How the NY Times convicted WHL
Here are more reasons why Gov. Richardson should not be confirmed by the Senate, besides his bungling of the Wen Ho Lee case.
▸ Pay for play investigation (Pay for play)
▸ Sexually harassed his Lt. Gov. (sexual harassment)
▸ Disloyal (Judas, quid pro quo)
▸ Lied to Congress and lied on his resume (lies)
▸ Will never be confirmed by the Senate (Sen. Byrd, confirmation chance)
▸ No ethics (situation ethics, self-promotional hack)
▸ Poor judgment (poor judgment)
▸ Give illegal immigrants amnesty and driver's licenses (immigration)
Mallard Fillmore/Bruce Tinsley
Cartoon from December 23, 2008. Does Mr. Tinsley think Gov. Richardson traded a promised appointment with then Sen. Obama for his support over Sen. Clinton during the primary? After all, President Clinton appointed Bill Richardson UN ambassador to the United Nation followed by Secretary of Energy.
Friday, December 19, 2008
WHL and Chancellor Tien
http://www.asianweek.com/2008/12/28/letters-to-the-editor-wen-ho-lee-and-chancellor-tien-healing-victims-of-trauma/
The Wen Ho Lee case, taking place between 1999 and 2000, did not affect Chancellor Tien’s chance of being appointed secretary of energy by Clinton (“A Nobel Laureate in the White House,” Dec. 19). Instead, it was John Huang and the 1996 campaign finance scandal that torpedoed Tien’s chance. Bill Richardson was appointed secretary of energy in 1998 and he, among other officials, was the one responsible for the prosecution and persecution of Dr. Wen Ho Lee.
L. Ling-Chi Wang
Professor Emeritus, Asian American Studies,
UC Berkeley
San Francisco, Calif.,
Dec. 19
The Wen Ho Lee case, taking place between 1999 and 2000, did not affect Chancellor Tien’s chance of being appointed secretary of energy by Clinton (“A Nobel Laureate in the White House,” Dec. 19). Instead, it was John Huang and the 1996 campaign finance scandal that torpedoed Tien’s chance. Bill Richardson was appointed secretary of energy in 1998 and he, among other officials, was the one responsible for the prosecution and persecution of Dr. Wen Ho Lee.
L. Ling-Chi Wang
Professor Emeritus, Asian American Studies,
UC Berkeley
San Francisco, Calif.,
Dec. 19
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Petition Is Not Racial
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=b41d133bd12d7bf17afb688747904dda&from=rss
New America Media, News Analysis, Jun Wang, Posted: Dec 17, 2008
Editor’s Note: President-elect Barack Obama’s nomination of Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce sparked a wave of protest in the Chinese American community, because of Richardson’s connection with the Wen Ho Lee case – but Chinese American media denies that their cause has anything to do with anti-Latino sentiment. Jun Wang is an editor with New America Media.
This Monday, President-elect Barack Obama officially nominated Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu to be U.S. Energy Secretary. Chinese American media reports that, to some extent, this nomination makes up for the Wen Ho Lee debacle, when Chinese American scientist Lee was wrongly accused of espionage and imprisoned for nine months.
But Chinese Americans continue to circulate a petition – initiated by Chinese scholars and human rights activists – against the appointment of Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce because he was involved in Lee’s persecution, and are outraged over what they call “misleading, racial” coverage by mainstream media about this issue.
On December 2nd, the San Jose Mercury News published a story with the headline "Chinese American Activists Oppose Any Bill Richardson Cabinet Nomination," reporting that the petition is "bound to create political tension between Latinos and Asian Americans."
The article also states: "Chinese Americans say they realize that challenging the nomination of Richardson, 61, the nation's most high-profile Hispanic politician will ruffle the Latino community, many of whose leaders felt he should have been named secretary of state instead of Sen. Hillary Clinton."
The Sing Tao Daily, one of the leading Chinese-language newspapers in the United States, published an editorial on Dec. 3rd calling the San Jose Mercury News' reporting on the petition biased.
For Chinese Americans, the rift created by Lee’s case is still not completely healed, especially when it comes to Richardson. Former President Bill Clinton, Judge James Parker and mainstream newspapers – including the New York Times – have apologized to Lee since the incident. Yet Richardson – the U.S. Secretary of Energy during the Clinton Administration, and seen as responsible for the witch hunt that brought Lee down, has refused to apologize or voice his regrets.
The Sing Tao editorial argues that coverage of Chinese American protests has falsely portrayed this as a racial issue. "The Mercury News called the protests a ‘potential racial conflict,’ which is not only misleading, but also provokes racial conflict itself."
The San Jose Mercury News did not respond to requests for comment.
Yu-ru Chen, editor-in-chief of the World Journal, another prominent U.S. Chinese-language newspaper, agrees that the petition is a human rights issue, and does not pose a threat to relations between ethnic communities. Chen said to cover the issue from a potential racial conflict angle reveals "hidden motives" aimed at undermining the union among ethnic communities.
The World Journal was the first newspaper to support the petition challenging Richardson's nomination, according to Chen.
The Chinese community acknowledges Richardson's service and contribution to the country, Chen says. However, Chen says, Richardson's response to the Lee case has been inappropriate and unjust.
"The petition has only been signed by Chinese Americans so far, but what if people in China join?" he asks. "Won't it be an embarrassment to the United States, which has long been a human rights leader in the world?"
Chinese media based in California expect senators to question the nomination based on human rights considerations. As Commerce Secretary, especially in the current global economic crisis, Richardson will have to deal with China, one of the United States' most important partners. With the Chinese community around the world calling on Richardson to apologize for his role in the Lee case, Chen believes that Richardson will have no choice but to address the issue.
In Chinese philosophy, crisis and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. "If [Richardson] positively responds to the Wen Ho Lee case, the current crisis could turn into an opportunity for him," Chen says. “However, if Richardson doesn't handle the issue well, more tough issues will be waiting for him when he takes his position as Commerce Secretary.”
"It's true that Richardson is of Latino descent and those who are protesting (his appointment) are Chinese. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a racial conflict," Sing Tao Daily editors write in the editorial. "Can't the Chinese community voice their opinion about a national issue other than for racial reasons? Is it necessary to see everything (related to the Chinese community) through a racial lens?"
"Actually Chinese and Latinos have the same standing point," Chen says. "We're all struggling to be treated equally by mainstream society. If the human rights of someone from the Latino community gets violated, we (Chinese) will stand up for him or her."
Covering the petition from a racial conflict perspective is equivalent to breaking apart a united country, Chen says. "How they deal with the petition based on the Wen Ho Lee issue is not only a test of Bill Richardson, but also a test of our character as U.S. citizens."
Related Articles:
Steven Chu—Smart Policy, Not Politics
Push for Diversity in an Obama Administration
China Spies And The Wen Ho Lee Hangover
What We Have (Not) Learned from Wen Ho Lee
New America Media, News Analysis, Jun Wang, Posted: Dec 17, 2008
Editor’s Note: President-elect Barack Obama’s nomination of Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce sparked a wave of protest in the Chinese American community, because of Richardson’s connection with the Wen Ho Lee case – but Chinese American media denies that their cause has anything to do with anti-Latino sentiment. Jun Wang is an editor with New America Media.
This Monday, President-elect Barack Obama officially nominated Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu to be U.S. Energy Secretary. Chinese American media reports that, to some extent, this nomination makes up for the Wen Ho Lee debacle, when Chinese American scientist Lee was wrongly accused of espionage and imprisoned for nine months.
But Chinese Americans continue to circulate a petition – initiated by Chinese scholars and human rights activists – against the appointment of Bill Richardson as Secretary of Commerce because he was involved in Lee’s persecution, and are outraged over what they call “misleading, racial” coverage by mainstream media about this issue.
On December 2nd, the San Jose Mercury News published a story with the headline "Chinese American Activists Oppose Any Bill Richardson Cabinet Nomination," reporting that the petition is "bound to create political tension between Latinos and Asian Americans."
The article also states: "Chinese Americans say they realize that challenging the nomination of Richardson, 61, the nation's most high-profile Hispanic politician will ruffle the Latino community, many of whose leaders felt he should have been named secretary of state instead of Sen. Hillary Clinton."
The Sing Tao Daily, one of the leading Chinese-language newspapers in the United States, published an editorial on Dec. 3rd calling the San Jose Mercury News' reporting on the petition biased.
For Chinese Americans, the rift created by Lee’s case is still not completely healed, especially when it comes to Richardson. Former President Bill Clinton, Judge James Parker and mainstream newspapers – including the New York Times – have apologized to Lee since the incident. Yet Richardson – the U.S. Secretary of Energy during the Clinton Administration, and seen as responsible for the witch hunt that brought Lee down, has refused to apologize or voice his regrets.
The Sing Tao editorial argues that coverage of Chinese American protests has falsely portrayed this as a racial issue. "The Mercury News called the protests a ‘potential racial conflict,’ which is not only misleading, but also provokes racial conflict itself."
The San Jose Mercury News did not respond to requests for comment.
Yu-ru Chen, editor-in-chief of the World Journal, another prominent U.S. Chinese-language newspaper, agrees that the petition is a human rights issue, and does not pose a threat to relations between ethnic communities. Chen said to cover the issue from a potential racial conflict angle reveals "hidden motives" aimed at undermining the union among ethnic communities.
The World Journal was the first newspaper to support the petition challenging Richardson's nomination, according to Chen.
The Chinese community acknowledges Richardson's service and contribution to the country, Chen says. However, Chen says, Richardson's response to the Lee case has been inappropriate and unjust.
"The petition has only been signed by Chinese Americans so far, but what if people in China join?" he asks. "Won't it be an embarrassment to the United States, which has long been a human rights leader in the world?"
Chinese media based in California expect senators to question the nomination based on human rights considerations. As Commerce Secretary, especially in the current global economic crisis, Richardson will have to deal with China, one of the United States' most important partners. With the Chinese community around the world calling on Richardson to apologize for his role in the Lee case, Chen believes that Richardson will have no choice but to address the issue.
In Chinese philosophy, crisis and opportunity are two sides of the same coin. "If [Richardson] positively responds to the Wen Ho Lee case, the current crisis could turn into an opportunity for him," Chen says. “However, if Richardson doesn't handle the issue well, more tough issues will be waiting for him when he takes his position as Commerce Secretary.”
"It's true that Richardson is of Latino descent and those who are protesting (his appointment) are Chinese. But that doesn't necessarily mean it's a racial conflict," Sing Tao Daily editors write in the editorial. "Can't the Chinese community voice their opinion about a national issue other than for racial reasons? Is it necessary to see everything (related to the Chinese community) through a racial lens?"
"Actually Chinese and Latinos have the same standing point," Chen says. "We're all struggling to be treated equally by mainstream society. If the human rights of someone from the Latino community gets violated, we (Chinese) will stand up for him or her."
Covering the petition from a racial conflict perspective is equivalent to breaking apart a united country, Chen says. "How they deal with the petition based on the Wen Ho Lee issue is not only a test of Bill Richardson, but also a test of our character as U.S. citizens."
Related Articles:
Steven Chu—Smart Policy, Not Politics
Push for Diversity in an Obama Administration
China Spies And The Wen Ho Lee Hangover
What We Have (Not) Learned from Wen Ho Lee
The Price of Wen Ho Lee
http://www.asianweek.com/2008/12/17/the-price-for-wen-ho-lee/
President-elect Obama has designated two APA cabinet members: retired Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki for Veterans Affairs and Cal’s Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu for Energy, which is a makeup for President Clinton getting cold feet over U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien after the “Chinagate” witch hunt. But Obama’s selection of Bill Richardson for Commerce raises hackles over the New Mexico governor’s unrepentant role in the espionage prosecution of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, who won a $1.6 million civil settlement from the feds and five major national media outlets in 2006. The Richardson selection is symptomatic of the Obama transition team’s vetting process. While sensitive to Latino political influence (note the expected pick of Colorado Senator Ken Salazar for Interior), the team is downplaying APA anger over Richardson’s handling of the Lee case. Petitions are nearing 10,000 in opposition to his appointment at wenholee.org. However, Obama is already committed to Richardson and is unlikely to risk embarrassment by pulling his name or having Congress reject the nomination. Richardson could defuse the issue at his Senate confirmation hearing by publicly apologizing and pledging to elevate APAs into major management positions to avert future Wen Ho Lees…
President-elect Obama has designated two APA cabinet members: retired Army Chief of Staff Eric Shinseki for Veterans Affairs and Cal’s Nobel Prize winner Steven Chu for Energy, which is a makeup for President Clinton getting cold feet over U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Chang-Lin Tien after the “Chinagate” witch hunt. But Obama’s selection of Bill Richardson for Commerce raises hackles over the New Mexico governor’s unrepentant role in the espionage prosecution of nuclear scientist Wen Ho Lee, who won a $1.6 million civil settlement from the feds and five major national media outlets in 2006. The Richardson selection is symptomatic of the Obama transition team’s vetting process. While sensitive to Latino political influence (note the expected pick of Colorado Senator Ken Salazar for Interior), the team is downplaying APA anger over Richardson’s handling of the Lee case. Petitions are nearing 10,000 in opposition to his appointment at wenholee.org. However, Obama is already committed to Richardson and is unlikely to risk embarrassment by pulling his name or having Congress reject the nomination. Richardson could defuse the issue at his Senate confirmation hearing by publicly apologizing and pledging to elevate APAs into major management positions to avert future Wen Ho Lees…
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Grand Jury Investigates Contributions to Richardson
The FBI has been investigating Gov. Richardson since August, see additional links at
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-richardson17-2008dec17,0,4246219.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/us/politics/19richardson.html
Gov. Richardson ducked a reporter's question from KRQE TV and when the station reported that, the Governor's deputy chief of staff, Gilbert Gallegos, had the nerve to send an email accusing the reporter of misconduct. You can watch the news clip and read the email exchange between Gallegos and the TV station at http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/politics_krqe_santa_fe_gallegos_complaint_200812171333. Michael Herzenberg from KRQE also reported that "One contribution reportedly was made just after CDR got the first deal. The other donation was made four days before it got the second job."
In a KOAT TV article, http://www.koat.com/news/18313553/detail.html, titled, "Donor Probe Could Impact Richardson's Confirmation Process", it says, "Calls to the Obama transition team for a comment on the grand jury probe were not returned."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502940.html
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 2008; Page A04
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.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is expected to hear testimony today from several key witnesses, including officials at Richard's political action committees and bankers at J.P. Morgan who worked with CDR on the state's investments.
The inquiry is part of a long-running nationwide investigation into "pay-to-play" practices in local government bond markets. In other cities, federal investigators are questioning whether financial firms have lavished politicians with money and gifts in exchange for fee-paying work advising municipal and local governments on investments. Authorities indicted the mayor of Birmingham, Ala., this month on charges of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and loans from a firm that led the city into toxic investments and massive bankruptcy.
In the New Mexico case, the FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating how CDR, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., won lucrative fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 soon after donating $100,000 to two Richardson organizations.
From 2003 to 2004, CDR Financial gave $75,000 to Sí Se Puede, which paid for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. CDR's president and founder, David Rubin, also gave $25,000 to Moving America Forward, which funded Richardson's efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters.
Rubin was generous to Obama's campaign as well, giving $29,000 to help elect the senator to the White House. Yesterday, the Obama transition office declined to comment on the development.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Richardson, said the governor was "aware of questions surrounding some financial transactions at the New Mexico Finance Authority" and expected state officials to cooperate fully. Gallegos declined further comment.
The U.S. attorney's office in New Mexico also declined to comment on the investigation, which began in the summer. Several Finance Authority board members have publicly confirmed being interviewed by the FBI. Paul Kennedy, an attorney for Richardson's former chief of staff, David Harris, confirmed that his client had been interviewed by the FBI in the summer but declined to comment further.
CDR's attorney, Richard Beckler, declined to answer questions about the probe's focus.
"CDR has always tried to abide by these byzantine campaign finance regulations and is cooperating fully with this investigation," Beckler said in a telephone interview yesterday.
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. Interest-rate swaps are financial contracts based on the value of commodities, loans or other assets, and debtors sometimes use them to lower borrowing costs. But many swaps have recently proven unwise as the assets upon which they were based plummeted in value.
The state hired CDR after requesting proposals for a bond adviser on Dec. 30, 2003. Sources familiar with the investigation said CDR initially did not make the list of the top three bidders. But the authority committee considering the bids redid the selection process and split some work, eventually hiring CDR for a part.
Committee Chairman Rick Homans was Richardson's economic development secretary at the time. He is now Richardson's taxation and revenue secretary and has declined to comment.
Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-richardson17-2008dec17,0,4246219.story
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/19/us/politics/19richardson.html
Also read the comments at http://www.topix.net/forum/source/krqe/TN9DGK1CH1O359SAR and http://www.topix.net/forum/source/santa-fe-new-mexican/T1MEBC8F557QJ9NR4. One of them wrote, "Trust me, as I have some information on this. It was not a No Bid Contract. They issued an RFP for the work. The company wasn't going to be the top pick for the RFP. Then they made a donation to the Gov. 4 days later, they had the contract."
Asked whether the probe focused only on CDR's actions in securing or executing the contract, the person with knowledge of the investigation said, "It is more than that."
Gov. Richardson ducked a reporter's question from KRQE TV and when the station reported that, the Governor's deputy chief of staff, Gilbert Gallegos, had the nerve to send an email accusing the reporter of misconduct. You can watch the news clip and read the email exchange between Gallegos and the TV station at http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/politics_krqe_santa_fe_gallegos_complaint_200812171333. Michael Herzenberg from KRQE also reported that "One contribution reportedly was made just after CDR got the first deal. The other donation was made four days before it got the second job."
In a KOAT TV article, http://www.koat.com/news/18313553/detail.html, titled, "Donor Probe Could Impact Richardson's Confirmation Process", it says, "Calls to the Obama transition team for a comment on the grand jury probe were not returned."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502940.html
By Carol D. Leonnig
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, December 16, 2008; Page A04
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.
The grand jury in Albuquerque is expected to hear testimony today from several key witnesses, including officials at Richard's political action committees and bankers at J.P. Morgan who worked with CDR on the state's investments.
The inquiry is part of a long-running nationwide investigation into "pay-to-play" practices in local government bond markets. In other cities, federal investigators are questioning whether financial firms have lavished politicians with money and gifts in exchange for fee-paying work advising municipal and local governments on investments. Authorities indicted the mayor of Birmingham, Ala., this month on charges of taking hundreds of thousands of dollars in gifts and loans from a firm that led the city into toxic investments and massive bankruptcy.
In the New Mexico case, the FBI and federal prosecutors are investigating how CDR, based in Beverly Hills, Calif., won lucrative fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 soon after donating $100,000 to two Richardson organizations.
From 2003 to 2004, CDR Financial gave $75,000 to Sí Se Puede, which paid for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004. CDR's president and founder, David Rubin, also gave $25,000 to Moving America Forward, which funded Richardson's efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters.
Rubin was generous to Obama's campaign as well, giving $29,000 to help elect the senator to the White House. Yesterday, the Obama transition office declined to comment on the development.
Gilbert Gallegos, a spokesman for Richardson, said the governor was "aware of questions surrounding some financial transactions at the New Mexico Finance Authority" and expected state officials to cooperate fully. Gallegos declined further comment.
The U.S. attorney's office in New Mexico also declined to comment on the investigation, which began in the summer. Several Finance Authority board members have publicly confirmed being interviewed by the FBI. Paul Kennedy, an attorney for Richardson's former chief of staff, David Harris, confirmed that his client had been interviewed by the FBI in the summer but declined to comment further.
CDR's attorney, Richard Beckler, declined to answer questions about the probe's focus.
"CDR has always tried to abide by these byzantine campaign finance regulations and is cooperating fully with this investigation," Beckler said in a telephone interview yesterday.
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. Interest-rate swaps are financial contracts based on the value of commodities, loans or other assets, and debtors sometimes use them to lower borrowing costs. But many swaps have recently proven unwise as the assets upon which they were based plummeted in value.
The state hired CDR after requesting proposals for a bond adviser on Dec. 30, 2003. Sources familiar with the investigation said CDR initially did not make the list of the top three bidders. But the authority committee considering the bids redid the selection process and split some work, eventually hiring CDR for a part.
Committee Chairman Rick Homans was Richardson's economic development secretary at the time. He is now Richardson's taxation and revenue secretary and has declined to comment.
Staff researcher Julie Tate contributed to this report.
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