Sen. Jeff Bingaman (D-N.M.) told reporters in a telephone conference yesterday that he submitted recommendations for his state’s next U.S. Attorney to President Barack Obama.

The New Mexico senator declined to say who is on the list of candidates that he sent to the White House last year.

Jeff Bingaman (Gov)

“We have made a list of recommendations available to the White House and we did that several months ago and the White House is trying to determine which of the individuals on that list they wish to go ahead and recommend for appointment to that position,” Bingaman said.

He added: “We have — just for reasons of privacy for the individuals — decided not to put that list out. But it’s up to the White House to choose from the group that we submitted.”

Bush holdover Gregory Fouratt currently leads the New Mexico U.S. Attorney office. He was appointed by the court after David Iglesias was forced out in the 2006 U.S. Attorney purge.

Fouratt was criticized last year by former Republican U.S. Attorneys for accusations he made about Gov. Bill Richardson after his office decided not to file charges against the governor for an alleged pay-to-play scheme.

The U.S. Attorney wrote that Richardson’s office acted corruptly in pressuring the state to select the company of a campaign donor, California-based CDR Financial Products, as an adviser on transportation bond transactions.

Another Republican former U.S. Attorney has criticized New Mexico’s top federal prosecutor for his unorthodox handling of the high-profile pay-to-play investigation of Gov. Bill Richardson (D-N.M.). The twist: the latest critic is also the brother of one of the U.S. Attorneys fired by the Bush administration in 2006.

New Mexico, of course, played a starring role in allegations the Bush White House had fired U.S. Attorneys for political reasons. After then-U.S. Attorney David Iglesias got the ax, it later emerged that New Mexico’s senior senator, Pete Domenici (R), had complained to the White House that Iglesias wasn’t pursuing a voter fraud case against Democrats.

Mike McKay (McKay Chadwell PLLC)

Now, Iglesias’s successor, New Mexico U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Fouratt, is under fire for writing that Richardson’s office acted corruptly in pressuring the state to select the company of a campaign donor, California-based CDR Financial Products, as an adviser on transportation bond transactions.

In a letter to defense attorneys last week announcing the government would not bring charges in the pay-to-pay investigation, Fouratt wrote that “pressure from the governor’s office resulted in the corruption of the procurement process” and said that his letter “should not be interpreted as exoneration of any party’s conduct in that matter.” Fouratt, a Bush holdover, was named interim U.S. Attorney a year after Iglesias was fired.

Joseph diGenova, U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia during the Reagan administration, told The Associated Press the letter was “stupid” and the New Mexico prosecutor “should be fired.”

Now Mike McKay, brother of another fired U.S. Attorney, former Western District of Washington prosecutor John McKay, has chimed in.

Mike McKay (who also served as Western District of Washington U.S. Attorney, back in the George H.W. Bush administration), told Politico that Fouratt’s letter was “virtually unprecedented. It reflects extremely poor judgment.”

“The very existence of federal criminal investigations is not supposed to be disclosed,” McKay told Politico, referencing the possible harm to the subjects’ standing. “And certainly for the same reasons, you don’t disclose closed investigations.”

Richardson, who ran for the Democratic presidential nomination last year before dropping out of the race and endorsing Obama, was being vetted for Commerce secretary when controversy over the accuracy of his disclosures about the probe to the White House caused him to withdraw. Richardson has said he didn’t act improperly as governor.

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)

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)

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)

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.

Bill Richardson

The New York Times has more on yesterday’s news that New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson won’t be charged in a yearlong probe into pay-to-play allegations involving one of his donors.

The Associated Press, which broke the story, reported that the decision to kill the investigation was made by “top Justice Department officials.”

This, of course, could be interpreted in a number of ways — for one, that political appointees in Washington scotched a probe into the activities of President Barack Obama’s would-have-been commerce secretary.

But the Times reports that U.S. Attorney Gregory J. Fouratt, a Republican, made the call, and that “top Justice Department officials concurred with Mr. Fouratt’s decision to drop the inquiry.” The Times attributes the information to “government officials informed of the decision.”

The Times, citing grand jury witnesses, also notes that the agreement to extend the statute of limitations was set to expire on Friday. No one from the Justice Department had asked them to sign another one.

In a letter to the witnesses,  Fouratt said his office would not pursue the charges, but he was not gracious in defeat. The prosecutor 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.”

(h/t TPM)

Bill Richardson

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson will not face criminal charges in a yearlong investigation into pay-to-play allegations involving one of his donors, a person familiar with the case told The Associated Press.

According to the AP:

The decision not to pursue indictments was made by top Justice Department officials, according to a person familiar with the investigation, who asked not to be identified because federal officials had not disclosed results of the probe.

“It’s over. There’s nothing. It was killed in Washington,” the person told The Associated Press.

Richardson, who was in line to become commerce secretary in the Obama administration, withdrew his name as a result of the probe. The governor professed innocence but said the investigation would delay his confirmation.

The federal grand jury investigation began in 2008. Authorities sought to determine whether the selection of California-based CDR Financial Products as an adviser on state transportation bond transactions was influenced by political contributions. Investigators also reviewed whether Richardson’s former chief of staff, David Contarino, was involved in the hire.

The post was updated on 9/4/09.