Richardson may have skipped full VP vetting in 2004

In defending himself against currently vague allegations about inappropriate behavior toward women, Gov. Bill Richardson has repeatedly said he was vetted for vice president by the John Kerry campaign in 2004 and passed the test.

Apparently, there’s some disagreement about whether that’s true.

The Politico ran an in-depth article today looking at the allegations in which staffers of the former campaign talked about Richardson’s vetting process. Since announcing in January he was running for president, Richardson has been hampered by talk, particularly on liberal blogs, about unspecified and alleged problems with women.

In an interview with the publication, Richardson called the talk about his behavior with women “mean-spirited” and said it has “no foundation.” But the publication notes that “many Democrats say gossip about Richardson’s personal behavior is an important factor in keeping an exceptionally well-credentialed politician – a former energy secretary and ambassador to the United Nations, who has been elected in a swing state – from entering the top tier of 2008 candidates.”

Richardson said, “The Kerry people vetted me for vice president,” adding that he knew that because Washington lawyer and Democratic insider Jim Johnson “has said so.”

The Politico got this comment from Johnson – “The Kerry campaign vetted Governor Richardson, and nothing was found that would have prevented him from being chosen as John Kerry’s vice presidential candidate” – but it came only after five days of phone calls and e-mails, and Johnson refused to elaborate or answer further questions.

Three other people the publication identifies as “senior Kerry aides or Democrats involved in the vice presidential search process” all said Richardson’s past “was not subject to any examination aimed at determining whether his personal conduct with women was a potential political problem.”

They said Richardson withdrew from consideration for vice president before undergoing the final round of vetting, which would have required delivering financial documents and other personal information to Johnson for examination. Several others did go through that process, including John Edwards, who was eventually chosen.

“He wanted to be considered because he wanted his name out there. And once his name was out there, he withdrew, so there was never a full vetting,” the article quoted “a senior Democrat close to the vice presidential process” as saying. That source added that Richardson’s citing of the vice presidential process as proof that he has been vetted “is a crazy thing to go around saying.”

Richardson Campaign Manager Dave Contarino told the publication that Johnson told him the vetting included phone calls to more than two dozen people and included allegations of “things with women.”

The Politico also had a call from Lanny Davis, a former Clinton aide, who said he vetted Richardson for a cabinet position in 1992 and the governor passed. Davis called because the Richardson campaign asked it of him.

“I ended up 100 percent convinced that Bill Richardson was not a womanizer, had not had an affair, had not done anything that embarrassed him,” the Politico quoted Davis as saying.