By ANTARA News/DPA,
Washington : Bill Richardson had been tapped by president-elect Barack Obama to serve as commerce secretary in the incoming US� administration, but on Sunday the New Mexico governor surprisingly withdrew his name from consideration for the position.
Richardson cited an investigation of a company that had done business with New Mexico`s government as grounds for the move. He did not provide details of the investigation, except to say that he and his administration “have acted properly in all matters.” He said the probe would likely last for several weeks, or months, and would
hamper his confirmation by the US Senate.
A grand jury in the south-western US state is investigating California firm CDR Financial Products Inc, which received 1.5 million dollars in fees from a state agency and had also donated 100,000 dollars to Richardson`s political activities, Bloomberg news reported.
Richardson, 61, served as United Nations ambassador and energy secretary under former president Bill Clinton, the last Democrat in the White House. He has served as governor of New Mexico since 2003, a state he also represented for more than a decade in the US Congress, and briefly ran against Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination.