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Richardson Stonewalled Obama Vetters

On pay-for-play investigation.

Bill Richardson’s decision to give up his bid for Commerce Secretary raises a question: Did Obama’s vetters blow it? Politico reports that, in fact, Obama’s team did press Richardson on a grand jury investigation into a possible pay-for-play scheme involving a California company and political action committees run by the governor. Result: “Those guys were pressed for information and they gave nothing,” a source tells Politico. The Times dryly notes: “Mr. Obama did not ask Mr. Richardson to step aside, associates close to both men said. But when Mr. Richardson offered to withdraw, the officials said, Mr. Obama simply accepted, without trying to persuade Mr. Richardson otherwise.”