Bill Richardson Reportedly Stonewalled Obama Vetters

As we reported yesterday, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson has withdrawn himself as Secretary of Commerce-Designate, citing an ongoing federal pay-to-play investigation. Richardson said that he expected to be cleared, but wanted to avoid a delay in the confirmation process.

Politico is reporting, now, that Obama's vetting team had pressed the governor and his office about the investigation, but got nowhere:

Barack Obama's transition team pressed Bill Richardson about a federal probe into "pay-to-play" allegations against his office – the same investigation Richardson cited Sunday in withdrawing his name as commerce secretary.

But a Democratic source said Obama's questioners came away empty handed. "Those guys were pressed for information and they gave nothing," the source said.

Now some Democrats are questioning Obama's vetting process -- and asking whether Obama's team went far enough in pushing the New Mexico governor for information in face of the federal grand jury probe that has been public since August.

And so, it begins. Bill Richardson's descent toward a close-up view of the undercarriage of "the bus."

Some may find it fitting that Richardson be thrown under the bus, since he threw Hillary Clinton under the bus. She has since emerged from under the bus, and is presumably having the last laugh now. I get paid extra every time I say "the bus." The bus.

Richardson's withdrawal is typical of the hyper-sensitive Obama team, which saw many high-profile resignations during the campaign when it appeared that someone could become a distraction. However, if Richardson did evade the vetters, his offer to be of help to the administration down the road is likely to be met with a curt "You already are."

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