Bill Richardson Under Investigation, Withdraws Name from Obama Administration Appointment, w/ Video

Bill Richardson says he can’t be Secretary of Commerce. He’s under investigation:

“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.”

I’m sure there’s nothing to see here, but for the record:

A federal grand jury is investigating how a California company that contributed to Richardson’s political activities won a New Mexico state contract worth more than $1 billion.

This is an interesting wrinkle to a story coming out of the Clinton camp. Apparently, a donor to the Bill Clinton Foundation was given “millions of dollars in federal assistance for the businessman’s mall project.”

Hillary Clinton helped enact legislation allowing the developer, Robert Congel, to use tax-exempt bonds to help finance the construction of the Destiny USA entertainment and shopping complex, an expansion of the Carousel Center in Syracuse.

She also helped secure a provision in a highway bill that set aside $5 million for Destiny USA roadway construction.

The bill with the tax-free bonds provision became law in October 2004, weeks before the donation, and the highway bill with the set-aside became law in August 2005, about nine months after the donation.

Congel is reportedly a Republican. He was even “a ‘Bush Ranger,’ gathering more than $200,000 in bundled contributions for the Bush-Cheney re-election effort.” Don’t you think that makes the timely donation even more suspect?

Of course, I’m sure there is nothing to see here either. I’m just glad the people spoke in 2006, tossing out the Republican Congress and their “culture of corruption.”

Hat Tip: America, You Asked For It!

UPDATE:

Hot Air has video: