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Ex-U.S. Attorney Blasts Prosecutor Over Richardson Probe Dismissal Letter
By Andrew Ramonas | August 31, 2009 12:18 pm

Former D.C. U.S. Attorney Joseph diGenova rebuked New Mexico U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Fouratt for remarks the prosecutor made about the decision not to file charges against Gov. Bill Richardson, The Associated Press reported last week.

Joseph diGenova (diGenova & Toensing)

Joseph diGenova (diGenova & Toensing)

diGenova, a Reagan U.S. Attorney, told The AP that a letter Fouratt sent to grand jury witnesses about the decision was “stupid.” The ex-D.C. U.S. Attorney said the letter made accusations of dishonesty after the investigation was over.

“That letter is an outrage and the U.S. Attorney who wrote it should be fired,”  diGenova told The AP. “The case is closed. If he had charges, bring them. Otherwise, he should shut up. He’s being a politician now, not a prosecutor.”

Gregory Fouratt (Gov)

Gregory Fouratt (Gov)

Fouratt, a Bush holdover, wrote that “pressure from the governor’s office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process” and said that the letter “should not be interpreted as exoneration of any party’s conduct in that matter.”

Richardson, a Democrat, was being investigated for a pay-to-play scheme involving one of his donors. He was appointed commerce secretary in the Obama administration, but withdrew his nomination as a result of the inquiry.

Bill Richardson (Gov)

Bill Richardson (Gov)

The governor said he was innocent. Richardson said he decided to withdraw his nomination to prevent a delay on his confirmation.

Officials were probing whether political contributions played a role in the selection of California-based CDR Financial Products as an adviser on state transportation bond transactions.

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"You have an obligation to be absolutely fair [to defendants], because if in fact you make an error, you've not only done an injustice to an individual, but you've also done an injustice to constituents." -- Rep. Dan Lundgren (R-Calif.) on misconduct in the botched Ted Stevens case.