Bill Richardson to Withdraw as Commerce Secretary

Caught up in his own scandal, Bill Richardson, New Mexico governor and Obama's pick to be commerce secretary, is withdrawing, according to MSNBC.
Another one bites the dust. Apparently, Richardson is part of a nationwide federal grand jury investigation determining whether financial firms gave gifts to politicians in exchange for investment advice.

Bloomberg: The grand jury in Albuquerque is looking into Beverly Hills, California-based CDR Financial Products Inc., which received almost $1.5 million in fees from the New Mexico Finance Authority in 2004 after donating $100,000 to Richardson’s efforts to register Hispanic and American Indian voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004, people familiar with the matter said.

If he's guilty, which we don't know yet, good riddance. Attention politicians: Americans are weary of scandal. Maybe this scandal will replace the Blago scandal for a while. I'm tired of that one. Expect a lot of noise on this one from the republicans. Just another distraction from the big problems that we face.
Here's the rundown from the Washington Post (Dec. 13):

WaPo: 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.

Richardson says he's withdrawing so he won't be a distraction:

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 Bill Richardson, tapped in December by President-elect Barack Obama to serve as secretary of Commerce, has withdrawn his name for the position, citing a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state.

"Let me say unequivocally that I and my Administration have acted properly in all matters and that this investigation will bear out that fact," he said Sunday in a report by NBC News' Andrea Mitchell. "But I have concluded that the ongoing investigation also would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process."

Obama accepted his withdrawal:

Obama said Sunday he accepted Richardson's decision to withdraw with 'deep regret.'

"Governor Richardson is an outstanding public servant and would have brought to the job of Commerce Secretary and our economic team great insights accumulated through an extraordinary career in federal and state office," Obama said.