Free Republic

Governor Bill Richardson says it's all a matter of timing -- that if only the feds had wrapped up a corruption investigation into his New Mexico Administration by now, he'd be cleared and would be winging his way to Washington confident of Senate confirmation as the next Commerce Secretary. Instead, he withdrew his nomination earlier this week. And maybe he's right about timing. But we'd dial the clock back not to August, as the national media have in clucking that Barack Obama has a sloppy vetting process. Rather, go back to December 7, 2006. That's the day the Bush Justice...

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) - Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democratic presidential hopeful, said Friday he is troubled and saddened by the latest public corruption scandal to hit New Mexico. Named in a federal indictment Thursday was Manny Aragon, a former state senator who once was among New Mexico's most powerful politicians. Aragon and three others are accused of conspiring, laundering money and committing mail fraud in a scheme that authorities say cost state taxpayers $4.2 million. "Regardless of the guilt or innocence, these indictments are very troubling," Richardson said Friday. "I'm saddened too because Sen. Aragon has had a distinguished...

4 in N.M. charged with corruption ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. - A former state senator and three other people were charged with corruption Thursday in a highly politicized case that a former federal prosecutor told Congress he believes led to his firing.A federal grand jury accused former New Mexico Senate President Pro Tem Manny Aragon and the others of conspiring to skim $4.2 million in public funds meant for construction of a county courthouse.David Iglesias, one of eight U.S. attorneys fired late last year, told Congress this month that he rejected what he believed to be pressure from U.S. Sen. Pete Domenici...

WASHINGTON – A fired federal prosecutor told a Senate committee Tuesday that he felt “leaned on” and sickened as Republican Sen. Pete Domenici hung up on him in disgust last fall when told that indictments in a corruption case against Democrats would not be issued before the fall elections. “He said, 'Are these going to be filed before November?'” former federal prosecutor David Iglesias, one of eight U.S. attorneys summarily fired in recent months, told the panel. “I said I didn't think so. And to which he replied, 'I'm very sorry to hear that.' And then the line went dead.”...

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) - On his last on the job, U.S. Attorney David Iglesias on Wednesday strongly defended his record in office, saying the Bush administration's call for his resignation came without warning and was rooted in politics _ not performance. "This episode came like a thief in the night," he said of the Dec. 7 request for him to step down. He added, "Obviously, I tripped some wire." Iglesias, a Republican, is among eight federal prosecutors asked in recent weeks to resign. Critics have suggested that the removals were politically motivated and illustrate what they say is a flaw...

EL PASO - A Defense Department plan to pull 450 National Guard troops away from inspection duties along the border is sparking an outcry among critics who fear it will lower the nation's defenses against terrorism.Some of the Guard troops have been on the job for more than 10 years and were trained to identify suspicious vehicles with hidden compartments that could conceal weapons. Under a plan approved in February by Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz, the new customs agency will hire inspectors and train them to replace the Guard troops. "This proposal would pull out the National Guard...