A spokesman for Gov. Bill Richardson says a report that the governor might be tapped for a special envoy job in the Obama administration is false.
“It’s not true. The governor is not interested, and he hasn’t discussed it with anyone,” spokesman Pahl Shipley said this evening.
The report from U.S.-run Radio Free Asia and relayed by the Korea Herald in South Korea states that the Obama administration is considering making Richardson a special envoy assigned to deal with the issue of North Korea’s nuclear weapons program.
The report said former U.S. Ambassador to Korea Stephen Bosworth is also under consideration for the job. But, quoting a former U.S. state department official, the report stated that Richardson “could be tapped for the seat given his acquaintance with North Korean officials.” The report also stated that three other candidates have been offered the job but turned it down.
Few, if any, Americans have a better relationship with the North Korean government than Richardson. He has traveled to North Korea several times throughout his political career, most recently in 2007 when he went there to secure the release of remains of American soldiers killed during the Korean War. North Korean officials have also traveled to Santa Fe to discuss North Korean/American relations with the governor.
But what about the federal grand jury investigation into allegations of pay to play in the Richardson administration? The probe that caused Richardson to withdraw his nomination to be Obama’s commerce secretary earlier this month? The one targeting senior staffers in Richardson administration that is asking whether anyone with the ability to influence the process helped a California firm secure a lucrative state contract in exchange for contributions to Richardson’s political action committees and gubernatorial campaign?
It’s still ongoing. Nothing that caused Richardson to withdraw from the commerce job has changed.
However, even in accepting Richardson’s withdrawal of his nomination earlier this month, Obama said in a statement that he looked forward to Richardson’s “future service to our country and in my administration.” Richardson said at the time that he would remain governor of New Mexico “for now,” but he might leave at a future date to take another job in the Obama administration.
Had Richardson not withdrawn his nomination for commerce secretary, he would have faced a Senate confirmation hearing and likely been grilled about the federal investigation and the way he has done business in New Mexico, a process that could have given the Obama administration a black eye.
But a special envoy, a lower-level position, doesn’t have to be confirmed by the Senate and wouldn’t attract as much media attention. If Richardson were appointed, he could simply begin his work.
The report about the special envoy job comes in the context of the Obama administration reviewing the United States’ approach to North Korea. On Tuesday, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said ongoing talks about the nation’s disarmament involving six nations are “essential.”