090110: Another Dem Governor in Trouble; Richardson Drops Cabinet Bid

(Politico) -- New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson said that he dropped his bid for commerce secretary because a federal probe into his state office went on longer than expected without clearing him of wrongdoing.

"I had hoped that the CDR investigation would have concluded in December with a clean bill of health for my administration," Richardson told reporters at a brief news conference Monday in Santa Fe. "Since the investigation was not finished in December and, as long as the CDR investigation is ongoing, I made the decision to withdraw as the president-elect's nominee for commerce secretary rather than ask for a delay in my appointment."

The FBI is investigating whether CDR, a California-based financial services company, engaged in "pay-to-play" after it and its CEO gave thousands of dollars to Richardson PACs and subsequently won state contracts.

A Democratic source told Politico that Obama's team was frustrated because it asked Richardson about the investigation – but that he offered few details.

Richardson reiterated that he was not pushed to take himself out of consideration for the commerce post. "I withdrew because I felt I didn't want a possible inquiry going on to delay the enormous progress we need to rebuild this economy," he said.

The usually loquacious two-term governor and former U.N. Ambassador refused to answer questions about the case, declining to say whether he had hired an attorney or conducted an internal investigation into whether CDR got preferential treatment. He said he wanted to "respect the criminal justice process." Richardson, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination, indicated he would still like to leave New Mexico and serve in an Obama administration.

"But today I will continue with the challenging job — the one that I love the most — of being governor," he said.

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