After damning food stamp fraud allegations surfaced in federal court in April, the state brought on a high-profile Albuquerque law firm. A later court hearing earlier this month marked the first time that Paul Kennedy, a former State Supreme Court justice and frequent lawyer for Gov. Susana Martinez’s administration, made a formal entrance in the decades-old Deborah Hatten-Gonzales […]
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Posted inHealthcare, NM Legislature
Lawmakers question HSD head over SNAP fraud scandal
Just days after a state senator called for the resignation of New Mexico Human Services Department Secretary Brent Earnest, the two kept things relatively cordial with one another in their first public meeting since then. Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino, D-Albuquerque, chair of the interim Legislative Health and Human Services, gave the floor to Earnest […]
Posted inPolitics & Elections, Quick Reads
Yates wins national Republican party spot
Over 600 Republicans gathered for what on its face would be a non-controversial, easy convention on Saturday. The Republican presidential primary is all but over, there are very few primaries for Republicans in legislative races (and none involving incumbents) and the party has already coalesced behind the three statewide candidates. But the increasingly ugly race […]
Posted inNM Legislature, Quick Reads
Pols abandon GOP DA candidate over risque websites
Web pages with salacious images that are part of the personal website of a District Attorney candidate in Doña Ana County caused at least three prominent elected Republicans to withdraw their names as co-hosts of an upcoming fundraiser. The homepage to Brad Cates’ website—www.bradcates.com—shows a picture of the smiling candidate next to bulletpoints of his […]
Posted inCongress & Federal Gov., Courts, Justice & Safety, Politics & Elections
Ex-Martinez campaign aides want answers on dropped FBI probe
Two former fundraisers for Gov. Susana Martinez are demanding answers on why the federal Department of Justice dropped an investigation into Martinez’s top political operative. Earlier this month, both Andrea Goff and Cecilia Martinez wrote letters to U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez detailing their cooperation with the FBI investigation into Jay McCleskey and the retaliation they […]
Posted inPolitics & Elections
Gov’s top political adviser will not face charges
The smoke surrounding an FBI investigation into a top political adviser did not result in any fire. That’s what an attorney for Jay McCleskey said on Friday, saying that the grand jury investigation into McCleskey is over and that McCleskey will not be facing any charges. The Albuquerque Journal first reported the news. “We have […]
Posted inCourts, Justice & Safety, NM Legislature, Quick Reads
Victims’ families to Sanchez: vote on crime bills
Family of victims of recent high profile crimes stepped up their pressure on the Senate, particularly Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, to allow votes on several high profile crime bills already passed by the House of Representatives. Nicole Chavez, the mother of slain teen Jaydon Chavez-Silver, implored Sanchez to bring the bills to the floor […]
Posted inCommentary
NM Political Report, one year later
I started working on NM Political Report just over a year ago, at the beginning of December of 2014. At that time, there was just one employee—myself. In the next two weeks, we went on to hire two great reporters, Margaret Wright and Andy Lyman. And then we started writing and reporting, eyeing a launch date in […]
Posted inUncategorized
Number two story of 2015: FBI investigation
The end of 2015 brought explosive news that the FBI were conducting investigations on New Mexico state government and Gov. Susana Martinez’ top political operative, Jay McCleskey. The first report, by the Santa Fe New Mexican, mentioned that federal authorities were looking into campaign spending by Martinez during her first gubernatorial campaign in 2010 and […]
Posted inUncategorized
Feds subpoenaed info from Gov’s time as DA
A federal grand jury wanted information related to potential wrongdoing in the 3rd Judicial District Attorney’s office when current governor Susana Martinez was DA, according to a report by The Santa Fe New Mexican this weekend. The news is the latest in a series of revelations about federal investigators looking into the Martinez administration and […]