Another Clinton Crony to Join the Obama Administration - 11/28/08

From historical mail files, 11/28/08.

Bruce

From the Desk of Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton:

What is this obsession Barack Obama has with scandal-ridden former Clinton officials? Rahm Emanuel, Greg Craig, John Podesta, and Eric Holder are all slated to hold key positions in the upcoming Obama administration (not to mention Hillary herself, see below). And now you can add former Clinton Energy Secretary Bill Richardson to the list. Richardson will now serve as Obama’s Secretary of Commerce.

Richardson may not have the corruption resume of, say, a Hillary Clinton. (But who does?) That said, Richardson is not without his ethical skeletons.

You may recall that Richardson was the Secretary of Energy at the time nuclear secrets were stolen from the Los Alamos Laboratory and possibly transferred to the Communist Chinese. Judicial Watch client Notra Trulock, the DOE Director of Intelligence who uncovered this serious breach of national security, was subjected to a massive smear campaign by Clinton officials in retaliation, led by Bill Richardson. Trulock was demoted and ultimately forced out of the agency. (Judicial Watch deposed Richardson in litigation on behalf of Trulock.)

(Richardson was roundly criticized for his mishandling of the Los Alamos fiasco, but that didn’t stop him from publishing a book entitled, Leading by Example: How We Can Inspire an Energy and Security Revolution. You gotta admit; he’s got nerve.)

While serving as Clinton’s Ambassador to the United Nations, Richardson also narrowly escaped prosecution for his alleged participation in the attempted Monica Lewinsky cover-up. Richardson met with Lewinsky on several occasions in her Watergate condo and offered her a job at the UN. This was an attempt to keep Lewinsky quiet about the affair. In fact, Richardson apparently lied during his Secretary of Energy confirmation hearings when he said he offered a job to Lewinsky to fill an “existing opening.” Evidence suggests there was no such job.

Still, Richardson was confirmed and, following the Clinton administration, was elected Governor of New Mexico. Now, he’ll be in charge of guiding the nation’s Commerce Department through the most serious financial crisis in 60 years. During the Clinton years, Commerce was a bazaar where, at Hillary’s direction, taxpayer-funded seats on trade mission junkets (and waivers for missile technology transfers to the communist Chinese) were sold to companies in exchange for political donations. It is fair to ask whether Richardson will follow the corrupt model of the Clinton years at Commerce.

So who’s next on Barack Obama’s list? Sandy Berger, the disgraced former Clinton National Security Advisor who was caught stealing and destroying documents from the National Archives? It wouldn’t surprise me in the least…