Bill Richardson Quits Obama's Cabinet

Hours before Barack Obama was scheduled to arrive in Washington tonight for a final fortnight of preparations before taking office, his choice as commerce secretary abruptly announced he was withdrawing his name.

Bill Richardson, the New Mexico Governor, said that a pending investigation into a company that has done business with his state “would have forced an untenable delay in the confirmation process” – even though he had done nothing wrong.

Last month a federal grand jury was reported to be investigating how a company that advised Jefferson County, Alabama, on bond deals that threaten to cause the biggest municipal bankruptcy in American history, secured similar contracts worth $1.5 million from New Mexico.

Specifically it is said to examining donations of $100,000 from California-based CDR Financial Products to Mr Richardson’s efforts to register voters and pay for expenses at the Democratic National Convention in 2004.