{"id":5564,"date":"2009-08-27T14:36:55","date_gmt":"2009-08-27T20:36:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=5564"},"modified":"2009-08-27T23:33:39","modified_gmt":"2009-08-28T05:33:39","slug":"gop-raises-questions-about-end-of-probe","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2009\/08\/gop-raises-questions-about-end-of-probe\/","title":{"rendered":"GOP raises questions about end of GRIPgate probe"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Janice

Janice Arnold-Jones<\/p><\/div>\n

A number of Republicans are raising questions in light of today\u2019s news<\/a> that Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> and others won\u2019t be charged following a federal investigation into allegations of pay to play in his administration.\u00a0<\/p>\n

So far, the only confirmation that the probe has ended has come from unnamed sources speaking to KRQE-TV<\/a> and The Associated Press<\/a>. In an interview, State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones<\/a>, R-Albuquerque and a 2010 candidate for governor, said the Department of Justice in Washington and the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Albuquerque need to publicly confirm that charges won\u2019t be filed and explain why.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAt this point, what I can see is the governor\u2019s buddies still made a lot of money and it costs the taxpayers a lot of money,\u201d Arnold-Jones said. \u201cWhile (not filing charges) may be justified, without an explanation, the confidence of the public continues to be eroded.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

According to the AP, \u201cA spokesman for the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office in Albuquerque said he had no information about the Justice Department\u2019s decision and couldn\u2019t comment.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The AP article also quoted an unnamed source as saying the federal probe \u201cwas killed in Washington,\u201d not at the U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office in Albuquerque. That prompted state GOP Chairman Harvey Yates Jr. to ask in a news release whether the decision was made \u201ccontrary to the advice of experienced, non-political, career prosecutors and the FBI.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

The state GOP\u2019s news release points out that, during his Senate confirmation hearing<\/a>, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said this: \u201cThe attempt to politicize the department will not be tolerated should I become attorney general of the United States. \u2026 I will work to restore the credibility of a department badly shaken by allegations of improper political interference.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Holder was speaking, of course, about the scandal<\/a> that resulted from the firings of several U.S. attorneys, including New Mexico\u2019s David Iglesias, during the Bush administration. New Mexico is ground zero for that ongoing controversy.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"Susana

Susana Martinez<\/p><\/div>\n

In light of Holder\u2019s statements during his confirmation hearing, Yates called on Holder to \u201cprovide transparent and honest answers\u201d about the end of the Richardson pay-to-play probe.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, Susana Martinez<\/a>, Do\u00f1a Ana County\u2019s district attorney and a Republican gubernatorial candidate, had this to say in a news release: \u201cWhether its today\u2019s news about the FBI investigation into the Richardson\/Denish administration or recent news concerning the indictment of the former secretary of state<\/a>, it all speaks to the same issue: Corruption is running rampant in Santa Fe and must be rooted out.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI am the only candidate who has a proven track record of taking on corrupt officials and bringing them to justice,\u201d she said. \u201cAs governor, I will instill integrity and confidence in state government by ushering in a true \u2018culture of responsibility\u2019 as opposed to turning a blind eye to waste, fraud and abuse.\u201d<\/p>\n

Update, 4:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

In a news release, state Democratic Party Director Josh Geise said Yates \u201cmust have a short memory. It was Heather Wilson and the Bush White House that politicized the Department of Justice.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGovernor Richardson has let the judicial process proceed despite the false personal attacks against him and his administration that have persisted for the last 12 months. The fact is the U.S. Attorney\u2019s office sent the case to the Department of Justice in Washington, as is customary in high profile cases — without any recommendation — despite a year of investigations, countless subpoenas and multiple grand juries,\u201d he said. \u201cIn short, this is a total vindication of Governor Richardson and his senior advisors who have been subjected to a year of unfounded rumors, leaks and attacks. Enough politics!\u201d<\/p>\n

Update, 4:40 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Likely Republican Gubernatorial candidate Allen Weh<\/a> released this statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cLt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> is just as responsible as Bill Richardson for the ineffective policies and lack of oversight that have become the hallmark of this administration. This campaign will be about Denish\u2019s track record and her failure to stand up to so many members of her own party who have been investigated, indicted or convicted for criminal activity. Public corruption is not a partisan issue and shouldn\u2019t be treated as one. New Mexico\u2019s next governor must be willing to make the tough decisions and stand up for what is right regardless of the political fallout.\u201d<\/p>\n

I should note that Denish has not released a statement on today\u2019s news or granted an interview that\u00a0I requested earlier today.<\/p>\n

Update, 11:30 p.m.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Denish released this statement:<\/p>\n

\u201cAssuming news reports are accurate, this is good news for the people of New Mexico. But the fact remains that public confidence has been eroded by the numerous investigations into possible wrongdoings by other government officials. We need strong ethics reform to make state government more open and accountable, and I will continue to lead that fight.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

UPDATED: A number of Republicans are raising questions in light of today\u2019s news that Gov. Bill Richardson and others won\u2019t be charged following a federal investigation into allegations of pay to play in his administration.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[108,112,122,114,107],"class_list":["post-5564","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","category-uncategorized","tag-2010-election","tag-bill-richardson","tag-gripgate","tag-public-corruption","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5564"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5564\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5564"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5564"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5564"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}