The first tropical storm of the Atlantic Hurricane season is named Andrea and slammed into Florida Friday. We know how they feel. It was our own Andrea--Andrea Goff of Hobbs--the former campaign finance director for Governor Martinez--who set  gale force winds blowing across La Politica last weekend. She came with the stunner that she had been interviewed by federal investigators about the ABQ Downs racino lease.

Whether our Andrea morphs into a political hurricane is the question ahead. The Guv this week worked strenuously to keep everyone focused on emailgate in which her ex-campaign manager was indicted for hijacking her campaign email account. But the Downs story is stubborn. Yet another of Martinez's ex-staffers proclaimed that she too had been interviewed--completely separate from emailgate--about the Downs. We'll have to consult Mark Ronchetti but that sure sounds like we may have two active systems at work...

Remember, the term "emailgate" got that name from yours truly not as a result of the email account being hijacked but because of what was on those emails about government business--including the Downs deal--and how that government business had been conducted out of the public eye--a shadow government.

SAM SLAMMED

Emailgate snared Dem Party Chairman and defense attorney Sam Bregman this week. He was asked if one of the mails from Susana's hijacked account that he had used in the defense of a fired state employee had been stolen. He would not answer. The loquacious Sam Bregman without something to say--and to the media? That may be a first.

Sam's role as a criminal defense attorney was raised as a potential problem when he won the party chairmanship in April and his foes are still pounding the table over it. But in his statement about the email he did condemn the Downs, deal, giving the clear impression that he does not see any problems commenting on that if it becomes the big story that the Dems are hoping it will.

NO WINNERS?

Intense efforts at positioning on emailgate was the focus of the political operatives and partisans this week, but one of the Alligators says both sides didn't look very spiffy as they went about their muddy business:

Is anyone going to win or claim the narrative around the Downs and emailgate controversies? Bregman's statement on emailgate was defensive, off target, strained and puts a pall on his nascent chairmanship. Meanwhile, Governor Martinez takes to Facebook, ripping various second rate players in a very un-Governor way. Hey, Governor, every heard the boxing advice--never fight down, always fight up? Shouldn't she be spending her valuable time on just one of the massive issues we have? Not on political hacks? Man, New Mexico needs some statesmen/stateswomen desperately at this moment. Some adults, that is.

NO WONDER

No wonder a number of Dems who voted for a  corporate tax cut in this year's legislative session are still feeling heat for it:

The wealthiest 1 percent now control 39 percent of the world's wealth, and their share is likely to grow in the coming years, according to a new report. The world's total private wealth grew 7.8 percent last year to $135 trillion, according to the Boston Consulting Group's Global Wealth report. The top 1 percent control $52.8 trillion, and those worth $5 million or more control nearly a quarter of the world's wealth....

ABQ State Senator Linda Lopez, now a Dem candidate for Governor, was among a handful of state Senators who voted against the corporate tax cut. So did State Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez who is mulling over a possible Guv bid.

TECO TIME
The news that Florida utility TECO (that's TECO not taco, wiseguys) has made a bid to take over the NM Gas Company could be seen as strengthening the state. The gas company used to be under the umbrella of PNM--the electric utility that is listed on the NYSE. TECO is also a NYSE company with decades of experience in delivering electricity. The current owners of the gas company--a private holding company--bungled badly in 2011 when thousands of New Mexicans were left in frigid cold because of the inability to get gas. PNM and TECO have reputations for reliability--critical for the business they are in. As publicly held companies they have access to the money markets and more transparency since they are stockholder owned. As aging infrastructure needs upgrading, TECO will be able to do it.

However, some analysts think the $950 million TECO is paying for the gas company acquisition is too steep. The state Public Regulation Commission--which must approve the sale--will need to talk with TECO about that. If TECO did pay too much, 500,000 New Mexico gas customers don't need to get stuck with any of the bill.

THE BOTTOM LINES

In the first draft of our Thursday blog, we posted a photo that we identified as attorney Jerry Wertheim and said he was the lawyer for ex-Martinez campaign staffer Anissa Ford. It is Jerry Todd Wertheim--the son of Jerry--who is the Ford attorney. We corrected the error. By the way, former NM Democratic Party Chairman John Wertheim is the younger son...That's almost as complicated as emailgate...

That's it for this week. Thanks for tuning in. Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan.

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You might think Governor Martinez would sit back, pop some popcorn and enjoy the show. But like a dog that must hunt, a prosecutor--one supposes--must prosecute. And so former district attorney Susana took the unusual step Wednesday of personally taking to Facebook to lash out at her indicted ex-campaign manager Jamie Estrada, Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman and Attorney General Gary King. Of Estrada, who faces federal charges of hijacking her campaign email account, Martinez posted:

Now, the leftwing criminal defense lawyer (Zachary Ives) representing the indicted is promising a smear campaign. I stood up to criminals for 25 years as a prosecutor, I wasn’t intimidated then and I won't be intimidated now.

That's classic JaySpeak, leveling a smear--"leftwing"--while saying his gal is being smeared (a reporter from a conservative group called it "a rant"). But why the vitriol direct from the Guv's lips? Why isn't she staying above the fray where popular governors are supposed to sit? That was the reaction of a variety of pundits when they got word of the Facebook missive.

The Governor, who sports a 60 percent plus approval rating, says she penned the post on the airplane as she was returning from a DC fund-raiser where a GOP Alligator says she raised $250,0000 and the Washington media was talking about her national political position. What more could you ask for? She was cloaked in pristine white and dove head first into the mud pit. Is there really that much to gain? Or is there that much at risk to the administration that they have to put her out front on a story that has garnered relatively little attention?

One Dem consultant explained the rare Favebook attack post by saying Martinez is using her high approval numbers to attempt to discredit Estrada now before he starts singing a song of corruption even more loudly. But you are not going to do that with one Facebook posting. You are going to have to do it time and again--using up that political capital. That's one reason why surrogates--like party flacks--are usually called upon to start the drumbeat, sparing the Governor from the direct engagement.

Others have opined that they sense real fear in the administration since Andrea Goff, her former campaign finance director, publicly said she had been interviewed by the FBI about the controversial ABQ Downs racino lease approved by the administration. They say that the Martinez camp is doing all it can to keep the focus on her hacked email account and not the Downs deal. And they are willing to put the Governor out in front of the story.

No business of ours. But we've advised a few Governors, mayors and congressmen over the decades. We've always told them to not to get too close to a moving train. And this one has been moving like a bullet.

Is Martinez and/or McCleskey that worried about what else Estrada and others may say that she feels the need to inoculate herself? She can inoculate, but is it necessary to personally administer the shot?

ATTORNEY CONFIRMS DOWNS PROBE

Att. Wertheim

Okay, we're back on the KRQE-TV vs. Santa Fe Reporter beat. The station insists its anonymous sources that say there is no separate federal investigation of the Downs at ABQ racino lease are right. The SFR has said its sources say there is a racino probe.

One of the SFR sources was Andrea Goff, the former Martinez finance campaign director who shed her anonymity to say she was interviewed about the Downs deal--and that it had nothing to do with email hacking as KRQE and the Governor's political team insists.

That hasn't been good enough for the station to retract its report that called the SFR story "inaccurate." Now an attorney for another former Martinez campaign worker tells the ABQ Journal that his client has been interviewed as part of a separate investigation of the Downs deal--not the email case:

...Former Martinez campaign worker, Anissa Ford of Rio Rancho, is now a witness in the email case and has been interviewed by agents on other matters, including the Downs at Albuquerque racino lease, according to her attorney. The lawyer, Jerry Todd Wertheim, said Ford, one of Martinez’s personal aides during the campaign, has been a witness from the time the agents served the search warrant on her Rio Rancho home.

“She has never been anything but a witness,” Wertheim said...“That has been very clear since the start.” Wertheim said his client has been questioned on several matters, including the emails stolen from the Susana2010.com campaign website.

“She has been questioned separately on the Downs at Albuquerque deal by a different set of agents. It was clear there was no linkage between the email investigation and the Downs investigation,” he said.

So does longtime NM lawyer Jerry Todd Wertheimhave it wrong, too? He flatly states there are two investigations--one on the Downs--one on the email probe. Goff, her attorney and Ford and her attorney are not anonymous sources.  The Governor's office dismisses Wertheim's report as coming from a "prominent Democratic lawyer" and that Ford is a "disgruntled" former employee.

So are we to take it that the Governor believes because Wertheim is a Democrat he is lying? As an "officer of the court" would he shade the truth? As the attorney for Ford would he not have proof of his statements that "two sets" of FBI agents interviewed her?

This is as authoritative a statement as we have seen confirming a separate racino probe--no matter how embryonic or advanced it may be. No wonder the administration is so nervous.

SAM GOES CLAM

Has Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman been seriously compromised on the email hijacking story?

The federal authorities say Bregman, a criminal defense attorney, received a hijacked email from Martinez's campaign account and used it in defending a state employee who had been fired by the administration.

And then there's the political consultant Bregman was associated with who is also embroiled in emailgate and who was busted on child porn charges during the course of the FBI investigation. Does it get much worse than that?

Maybe. Maybe not. Bregman has stayed silent for several days. We would not expect that to last.

Bregman did break his silence Thursday morning, coming with a statement that he had indeed told the court about the email in question as well as lawyers for the Governor involved in the firing case;

The Governor has chosen to do this (question the email) after knowing full well that the day after I received the email in question I personally hand delivered the email to a judge and to the Governor’s lawyers in a judicial proceeding. For the Governor to suggest or imply that I have done anything improper or violated any law is reprehensible...You should take a refresher course to better understand that you should not attempt to use your position as Governor to influence, inject politics into or bully the US Attorney’s office in their investigation, all the while attempting to deflect the investigation of your shadow governor, Jay McCleskey and the Dirty Downs Scandal.

Bregman would not say if he knew the email was obtained illegally.

Sam's repeated "no comment" in news stories regarding emailgate had been watching a pit bull lose its teeth. He was at Martinez's mercy when the latest emailgate news broke and she piled on quickly, demanding to know exactly what Sam knew and when he knew it. Hey, aren't those the questions Democrats should be turning on Martinez over alleged bid-rigging for the ABQ Downs racino?

THE PATH AHEAD

Martinez and company are hoping that in the days ahead they have a weakened Sam Bregman, a jailed and/or discredited Jamie Estrada and a Governor seen as the victim of unscrupulous staffers. But the Dems still think they hold a hole card that could get played--the bid rigging allegations over the ABQ Downs racino lease. Reader Mike traces out one way he thinks that cared could get played:

Over the next several months (maybe weeks) I think we'll see a confluence of the two controversies. As I understand the indictment, Estrada continued to control the Susana2010 domain until July 2012. The Downs lease agreement was finalized in December 2011. This indicates to me that Estrada had access to any emails traversing the Susana2010 domain throughout the entire bid process and well past the awarding of the lease agreement. The question then is---Did Estrada, while monitoring emails passing through the Susana2010 domain over this critical period, capture a "smoking gun" -- an email or emails that will implicate administration officials or advisers in a bid-rigging scheme to award the lease agreement to Susana's big political contributor. While he apparently leaked some of the emails (to the union guy, for example), Estrada strikes me as a bright, if not crafty person, who would save the best of the emails for his use when the chips are down (no pun intended)... like a federal indictment.

In any event, don't be surprised if Estrada ends up pleading to a lesser charge and cooperating in a federal investigation into the bid-rigging of the Albuquerque Downs lease agreement. If so, Governor Law& Order is going to have some explaining to do....

Be surprised, Mike? After what has been going around here a ghost in our face would have a hard time surprising us.

ON THE SCENE

The ABQ Film and Media Experience (AFME)  is underway and runs through June 9. Blog reader Geri Lynn Weinstein was co-producer for the film Justice Denied" that will premier at the ABQ Kimo Saturday night. The film is about military servicemen--including Geri Lynn's husband--coming forward to report on how they were sexually assaulted while serving. It's a problem that received congressional attention this week and a subject that made for a compelling documentary....Actor Robert Redford will also be in town for AFME, appearing Friday night at the Hiland Theatre.

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Where are the Dems? So far, it has been all Republicans putting the heat on the Martinez administration in the awarding of that controversial 25 year racino lease for the ABQ Downs racino.

State Fair Commissioner Charlotte Rode questioned it from the start, back in 2011bprominent Republican businessman Tom Tinnin resigned his seat on the state Board of Finance in disgust over the Downs deal and now Andrea Goff, the former finance director for Martinez, has come forward to say she has been asked about the deal and "various activities" by the FBI. That one put the Downs deal back on the front pages.

But state Dems have been slow to the fight. Attorney General King--running for Governor--and State Auditor Hector Balderas--running for attorney general--have made few waves. (Balderas is expected to come with something soon). New Dem Party Chairman Sam Bregman, an attorney who has had a client who lost out on winning a racino lease in Raton, has stayed away from the subject.

The Downs was a major campaign contributor to Martinez and her Democratic foe. The racino management had major ties to the Dem administration of Big Bill. Is their dancing on both sides of the political aisle paying off with a soft touch approach from the out-of-power Dems?...

The Governor reports to the "best of my knowledge" no employees of her office have been interviewed about the Downs lease by the FBI. Of course, if you are interviewed by the FBI and in any way talk out of school, you aren't going to march into the Guv's office and brag about, are you?

If there is a separate investigation of the Downs wheeling and dealing, it would get a case number from the FBI, say insiders...

And an Alligator in good standing says of soon-to-be new US Attorney Damon Martinez:

He understands politics. He gets what is going on in that sphere as well as the legal. In years past he talked about running for elective office.

Martinez awaits confirmation by the US Senate.  He served as legislative director for Senator Udall when Udall was in the US House. He was nominated for the US attorney slot by Udall. He has been with the US Attorney's office in NM since 2001. You would guess he's plenty familiar with the office politics there...

How did Jamie Estrada, indicted for hijacking Martinez's campaign email account, fall out of favor with her and her operatives? And was he really "fired?" The story here. And more on how the email case came about here.

THE DOWNS AND DARREN

Darren White

The more vitriolic the attacks get against this blog and other media from Darren White the more we are led to wonder if these attacks are the official policy of the Downs Racetrack and Casino in Albuquerque.

White is the Republican political operative who is the Vice-President of Corporate Affairs for the racino--a job he received after the controversial awarding of a 25 year old racino lease to the Downs by the Martinez administration.

White's attacks have been going on for months on his Twitter account and distributed to his 1,400 "followers" during normal business hours as well as the evening. They have become especially heated and ad hominem in nature since we and others recently began covering the latest news on whether the FBI is investigating the racino lease.

White is not identified as an employee of the Downs on his Twitter account, but the tweets we are referencing pertain to his employer. We would like to know:

--Are Mr. White's attacks on us and other media for coverage of the racino controversy the official policy of the Downs Racetrack and Casino in Albuquerque?

--Does management of the Downs take responsibility for the content of White's Twitter comments?

--Are Downs Racetrack and Casino employees free to use social media during working hours to level attacks against the media or anyone else they choose?

--Just what is the policy of the Downs Racetrack and Casino on social media use by their employees?

--Is Mr. White using a computer or electronic device owned in any way by the Downs when he makes his attacks?

--Are his attacks being made from offices at the Downs at ABQ?

Scott Eldredge

We are not disputing White's right to attack us--stand in line for that--but because of the high management position he holds at the Downs, we are questioning whether these personal attacks on our truthfulness and integrity are sanctioned and/or sponsored by his employer.

If indeed they are, in the future we shall direct our responses to White's statements to the owners and management of the Downs Racetrack and Casino at Albuquerque. Scott Eldredge is the new chief operating officer of the racino located in the heart of Albuquerque at Lousiana and Central SE.

JOBS ARE COMING

400 new jobs are coming to NM--and they are all government jobs. Molina Healthcare of NM will hire the new workers to serve all the new Medicaid members they will get when the program expands as part of Obamcare. So Governor Martinez and Mayor Berry, you can thank President Obama for providing badly needed jobs here, but he probably already knows how much you appreciate it...

CAMPAIGN '13

As for that mayoral battle we mentioned at the top of the blog, Dem contender Pete Dinelli is lining up early union support. AFSCME came over the weekend with its endorsement of the attorney and former city public safety director:

Casey Padilla, President of AFSCME Local 624 (City of Albuquerque Blue Collar workers) said “It matters what kind of mayor we have. Mayor Berry continues to reward campaign donors and supporters with sweetheart deals and in the meantime, Albuquerque’s infrastructure is suffering and falling apart, services are drastically cut, and our citizens are still out of work. Without change we will continue to fall behind. We must elect Pete Dinelli as our next mayor.”

Meanwhile, Republican Berry has amped up his social media effort, opening an account on Twitter and getting quite active on Facebook as he works to secure a second four year term. The mayor is also hoping that some modest ABQ job growth recorded recently is the start of a trend,

Republican Paul Heh is the third candidate eon the campaign trail.

TONE DEAF?

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If there was a confirmed federal investigation of the awarding of the controversial racino lease for the Downs, it could release the animal spirits of a number of potential 2014 Dem Guv candidates. Perhaps that's one of the reason Governor Martinez remains so insistent that there is no such investigation.

Asked by  The AP about the weekend revelation from her ex-finance chair Andrea Goff that she had been questioned by the FBI about the ABQ Downs, Martinez quickly went into spin mode. She said she was sure Goff was being asked questions about the Downs because her former campaign manager, Jamie Estrada, who has been indicted by the Feds for hacking into her campaign email account, will use the allegations about the lease as part of his defense.

"Absolutely, I am confident that this is all involving Jamie Estrada and the hijacking of my email," Said Martinez.

For her part Goff's weekend statement said "none" of the questions she was asked by the FBI related to the email hacking or Estrada. (The ABQ Journal came with its take on the Goff statement and any Downs investigation in this Tuesday piece.)

LIKE A TERROR ATTACK

There seems to be near terror in the Martinez camp over the speculation over the matter. The stiff gubernatorial reactions and the overreach of Martinez operatives against critics on social media has one of our Dem Alligators asessing the performance of political consultant Jay McCleskey, who basically runs the Governor's show.

McCleskey has had little if any experience handling the campaign of an incumbent. And no experience running a government. It's showing in how this Downs deal has been unfolding. Their attacks, based apparently on their fear and worry, are bringing this issue way more attention than it should have. They need to restore emotional control. This should never have reached the Governor's level. If there isn't an investigation this Nervous Nellie act going on may cause one.

Political consultants are good at running campaigns, but running the government? Well, that's different.

DISSECTING THE SPIN

The problem with Martinez's spin on Goff is that the Santa Fe Reporter said several other of the Guv's ex-campaign staffers, besides Goff, say they were also interviewed about the Downs. Like Goff, they say it was not about the email hacking that the administration wants everyone to focus on.

And remember, the SFR also said the ex-staffers reported the FBI asked about "consulting payments" made to McCleskey. Does that also relate to Estrada's future defense?

And then there was Goff's weekend statement that is still a problem for Martinez. Goff said she was interviewed about the Downs and "various activities." Were all those other activities she was asked about also in relation to the email hacking case and Estrada's expected defense?

There is enough there to guarantee one thing--Much of the Martinez inner circle is going to be watching their backs for the indefinite future and working furiously to convince the media that the FBI is happy as a lark about the Downs deal and so should they.

KRQE CORRECTIONS

KRQE-TV has revised their erroneous Sunday news report on Andrea Goff. They no longer say she "claims" to have worked for Martinez, a bizarre statement given that Goff has been raising money for top tier GOP candidates for more than a decade and chaired the Guv's 2010 inaugural committee. And the station is also now calling her the Governor's "former finance director." They earlier reported that a consultant for Martinez (Hi, Jay) demoted Goff to "consultant."

So, were the sources who helped KRQE make those errors the same ones who are telling them with absolute certainty that none of those recently interviewed by the FBI were asked any questions other than those relating to the email investigation? Maybe one of their sources is the Governor. The AP
describes her as "certain" there is only the email hacking investigation, not a Downs probe. Who leaked her that "certain" information? Inquiring minds would like to know.

Whatever the outcome of the KRQE news sourcing or any Downs probe, the job they did Sunday night on Goff reinforces the view that the newsroom is either politically contaminated as we examined on Friday's blog, or folks there are just too damn tired and worn out. Or both.

And we know the latest murder meter count is of tantamount importance to TV news, but could someone do a story on why these sources believe the FBI is so not interested in looking at the Downs deal?

WHERE'S SAM?

A reader (A Democrat) writes of Andrea Goff and the Downs deal featuring a controversial 25 year racino lease:

It's the biggest story of the year on Susana's ethics issues and where's NM Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman? How come he's not on every TV station, every blog, every paper ripping Susana? After all, that's what he promised...

There was bad news for Bregman and the Dems Monday. One of the D's political consultants, Jason Loera, formerly of ABQ and now in L.A. was charged with possessing child porn.

Loera was paid as a consultant in 2012 by Grassroots New Mexico, a political action committee with ties to Albuquerque lawyer Sam Bregman, who became state Democratic Party chairman this year.Bregman didn't immediately return a telephone message and email seeking comment.

Republicans were speculating on Twitter Monday night that the Loera indictment may have come about as a result of the FBI investigation into the hacked campaign email account of Governor Martinez.

Loera has done political work for northern Dem Congressman Ben Ray Lujan. His office had this reaction:

We are shocked to hear about the indictment,These are very serious charges and they deserve to be fully addressed through the legal system.

Bregman has yet to comment but he is already getting beat up by the R's because he is a criminal defense attorney who has defended Dem politicians accused of corruption.

Interesting sidebar: Loera's computer was apparently examined in the final days of 2012--as part of the FBI's email hacking case into Martinez's campaign account.

MORE EMAIL INDICTMENTS?

The conservative Weekly Standard with deep ties to the Republican Party (and we're guessing Governor Martinez's political operatives) joins the anonymous source party on the email hacking case. The paper wonders if former Martinez campaign aide Jamie Estrada will be the only one indicted in connection with the hacking of the Guv's campaign email account:

Sources from the New Mexico GOP suggest more indictments may follow, particularly if the federal investigation reveals more information about the people to whom Estrada provided the illegally acquired emails.

Hmm. How do those Republican partisans know what is going on in the US Attorneys' office?

The Weekly Standard does not mention any possible probe of allegations of bid-rigging for the lucrative lease at the ABQ Downs. Those allegations were given more legs from the contents of the hacked emails.

And who wants that nasty business making the rounds on Capitol Hill when Martinez and her political arm are about to throw a big fund-raising reception tomorrow night featuring a bunch of national political players. Martinez's ex fund-raiser--Andrea Goff--rained on that parade (was her timing intentional?) when she came forth over the weekend to say she was interviewed by the FBI about the ABQ Downs racino.

Whether there are more indictments in the email case will be interesting, but this Downs deal is going to simmer--and maybe some day boil over--just like the email case.

THE BOTTOM LINES

The video link in which Governor Martinez reacts to the news that Andrea Goff says she was interviewed by the FBI about activity at the ABQ Downs, was not working for part of Monday morning. If you missed it is here and on the Monday blog.

We talked politics recently with longtime newsman Arthur Alpert. He's  still pounding out copy and making waves. You can find him at ABQ Journal Watch. And another longtime New Mexico newsman--Wally Gordon--can now be read at NM Mercury.

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Andrea Goff

Gov. Martinez

Governor Martinez wasn't faced with only one fire this weekend. As she traveled to the Tres Lagunas Fire near Pecos, a political inferno was breaking out in her own backyard. Andrea Goff, her former campaign finance director, contradicted the Governor's political team and a major TV station on exactly what the FBI has been investigating within her administration.

The Governor's team has been nearly frantic in their insistence that the FBI has confined its investigation of the administration to the hacking of Martinez's campaign email account for which ex-campaign aide Jamie Estrada was indicted for last week. But some of those hacked emails that were made public reinforced the possibility of bid-rigging last year for the lucrative 25 year ABQ Downs racino lease awarded by the administration.

Martinez allies went ballistic on the Santa Fe Reporter (SFR) in social media when the SFR came with a story that said unnamed sources confirmed that the FBI had been asking ex-Martinez campaign staffers about the racino. They also launched missiles at this blogger for writing that the SFR report deserved to be taken seriously. KRQE-TV news aired a report saying SFR was inaccurate and that their sources said no one anywhere was being asked any questions about the Downs deal by the FBI.

So it sent political shrapnel flying Saturday when Goff, a longtime GOP fund-raiser, came forward and said because of "the misinformation" going around she was coming forward to confirm that she was questioned by the FBI not only about the Downs racino wheeling and dealing but other "various activities." She emphasized that in this particular FBI interview conducted some three weeks ago, she was not asked about the hacked emails and the Estrada case. It was a clear message to the Governor and the media they have worked so hard to contain.

(Goff's complete statement is here and below on a special Saturday blog edition).

Goff emphasized her former role in the Martinez inner circle by noting in her statement that not only was she a former finance director for Martinez, but also had served as finance director for the Guv's political action committee known as SusanaPAC as well as executive director of the Governor's 2010 inaugural committee. SusanaPAC is run by Martinez political adviser Jay McCleskey who critics have dubbed the "Shadow Governor."

Goff raised money for SusanaPAC. Her father-in-law, Buster Goff, was appointed to the state fair commission by Governor Martinez where he took part in the racino lease deal. And so the plot thickens.

MARTINEZ ON GOFF

A somewhat nervous looking Governor reacted to the dropping of the shoe by Goff in a Saturday interview with KOB-TV while at the Tres Lagunas Fire:

I don't know exactly what the FBI told her. I will tell you that the FBI is not forthcoming in reference to whether or not they're investigating the emails. It is our understanding there is no Downs investigation whatsoever. 

The Governor also said "to her knowledge" no one in her administration has been interviewed by the FBI. "To my knowledge" is the all-purpose cover your ass phrase that the Governor, a former district attorney, was wise to use. She also did not take any personal shots at the credibility of Goff--another wise choice.

So who has given the Governor her "understanding" that there is no Downs investigation "whatsoever?" Was her source friendly Republican attorneys in the US Attorney's office who went after ex-Guv Big Bill tooth and nail but were unable to pin a rap on him?

And why have even a hint of defensiveness about any investigation?  Why not just say everything was above board and you welcome any scrutiny of the deal? Isn't that the smart thing to do? A Senior Alligator--no fan of the Guv or her team--gave us this reasoning:

The general public is only a secondary audience for the Governor and her operatives when it comes to their Downs strategy. This is still largely insider baseball. The real audience is close supporters and those involved with any possible illegality or bid-rigging at The Downs. The aim is to reassure them that they won't be indicted or charged. The message is simple: "You have nothing to fear. Neither the FBI, the US Attorney or the news media is looking at the Downs deal because we won't let them. We'll threaten and intimidate any dissenting news outlets, shift the focus to the smokescreen of "E-mailgate" (which exposed the Martinez administration conducting a virtual shadow government via private e-mail), and discredit and marginalize any potential Downs whistle blowers. Keep the faith and keep your mouths shut. Or you're next..."

On the other hand,  maybe the FBI is just mildly curious about the Downs shenanigans and threw a few softball questions at Goff, one of the several "unnamed sources" cited by the SFR when they busted open the story that the FBI was poking around not only about the email hacking, but the Downs dealing. Maybe a mountain is being made out of a molehill? We'll see.

KRQE: TO THE BUNKER

Mountain or molehill, a news story is a news story and getting it right is job one and correcting it when you are wrong is job two. But rather than owning up to a clear error in its reporting, ABQ's KRQE-TV went further into a journalistic no man's land Sunday.

They dug into the bunker, refusing to correct the erroneous report they ran last Wednesday that said: "All those (FBI) interviews are connected only to the email investigation" and they came with even more wayward and awkward reporting.

Whether there is a serious investigation going on or not is open to question, but Goff clearly contradicts KRQE's sources. She says on the advice of her attorney and FBI she will not answer specific questions about the interview. Is KRQE saying both Goff and her attorney are lying and making up the contents of her FBI interview? Are they aware that her attorney is a a former FBI agent practicing with a major law firm in Dallas with strong GOP ties? (More on that later.)

And the double-down from KRQE on their sources:

Despite Goff’s statement, sources tell KRQE News 13 the FBI has been investigating the theft of the emails and not the Downs deal.

But who are those unnamed sources? Andrea Goff is now a public source. She is on the record. She can be scrutinized. KRQE's sources remain anonymous. And what about KRQE's assertion from their sources that absolutely no questions about topics other than the email hacking case were asked of people being interviewed by the FBI recently? It's like KRQE never said it. But they did.
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Also, in the first line of a report on this story on their KRQE refers to Goff as a woman who "claims" she was a member of Governor Martinez's campaign..." Say what? "Claims?"

Goff has been around Republican fund-raising circles for years. Did we say she is the lead fundraiser for Congressman Steve Pearce? Now Guv political adviser Jay McCleskey tells KRQE she was only a "consultant for Martinez" not finance director. We will get to the bottom of that, but even if she served as a consultant, is not that a member of the campaign? The station infers that Goff is some kind of foreign presence in state politics. Jay could not have written it better himself. By the way, the SFR reports "consulting payments" made to McCleskey were another subject of the FBI questions for the sources for their report.

Late Monday KRQE corrected errors in its Sunday 5:30 broadcast, dropping the word "claims" and also reporting that Goff was indeed Martinez's finance director, not a "consultant." They did not retract or apologize for saying the Santa Fe Reporter was inaccurate in its sourcing even though Goff has shed her anonymity to confirm that report.

CAUSE FOR SUSPICION

Was KRQE on Sunday taking a cheap shot at Goff to discredit her because she proved that KRQE was wrong when it said its sources told them no one called in to talk with the FBI recently had been asked questions other than on the email hacking and not the Downs?

We regret to say that there is more than ample cause for that suspicion. We reported on the Friday blog (see below) on the extremely close ties the KRQE-TV news department has to the Martinez administration and to Darren White, the VP for Corporate Affairs at the Downs who is a former KRQE-TV news reporter who doubles as a political attack dog for Guv political adviser McCleskey.

KRQE did not have to go after the SFR. They could have simply reported their sources said the investigation of the FBI was confined to the email hacking. But they went out of their way to attack the paper. Does anyone think its genesis was inside the newsroom and not with the Governor's allies?

KRQE got burned because Jay and company believed that none of the anonymous sources would come forward. They could tell the station what ever they wanted. But when Goff came forward, they and KRQE were busted. The intimidation of the media that has been a major uncovered behind-the-scenes story of this administration was broken. And now the Governor has to worry about the rats getting scared and jumping off the good ship Downs.

KRQE General Manager William Anderson refused to apologize to the SFR for its broadcast that said the paper was "inaccurate" when it said its sources said the FBI was asking questions about the Downs deal. Maybe that was defensible on the basis of what Anderson knew at that time but the refusal to report the truth now that Goff has come out is journalistic and management malpractice. Goff "claims" to have worked with Martinez? That's "journalism?" Really?

LIN Media owns KRQE and dozens of other media properties. We are not reporting fantasy here. Can corporate please take a look?

WHERE ARE YOU, DICK?

How could this happen at a CBS affiliated station with Dick Knipfing at the anchor desk? He has a fifty year presence in the ABQ TV market. Former Democratic ABQ Mayor Jim Baca worked with Knipfing as a news reporter and anchor at KOAT-TV decades ago. He says Dick was always the first guy in the room to urge a correction when the station made an error. What happened to that Dick Knipfing? (And Larry Barker?)  It's a damn shame, but if there were an FBI for the news media, investigating the incestuous relationships KRQE has with the Martinez administration would be the first job on its list. And there's more to come on that....

And who is so viciously attacking the SFR and this blog? How about the likes of ousted and disgraced GOP state Rep. Dan Foley (thanks in large part to Roswell oil man Mark Murphy), former GOP state Senator "Lightning" Rod Adair, McCleskey water boy Adam Feldman, McCleskey himself and the ubiquitous Darren White--all political operatives or former politicians who have an axe to grind and paychecks dependent on Martinez to protect. (And what is Adam Feldman doing picking a fight in NM when he is out in Kentucky and supposed to be working on the campaign of GOP Senator McConnell? Does the Senator want  in on this fight?)

We have not hesitated to call out this gang--for ten long years. That's our job. We are gratified that the citizens of New Mexico have seen it our way and have rejected the political ambitions of Foley, Adair and White.

But Andrea Goff has shown the real guts. She has bravely shed her veil of anonymity and is now willing to defend herself against the inevitable hit squad and their conflict-ridden, sycophantic media allies.

LAWYERING UP

Terence Hart

Readers were quick to note the high-powered attorney Goff hired. He's Terence Hart, a former FBI agent and former assistant US Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Most telling, he's a partner in the Dallas office of the international law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani. Yes, that Rudy Giuliani, former Mayor of NYC who is etched in history's memory for his stewardship after 9/11. A reader comes with these thoughts:

Perhaps Goff determined she was in need of the very best of the best in the big leagues—guys with no New Mexico embroilments or baggage, but whose hourly billing rates are likely double those of the local guys. Ms. Goff has gone directly to top of the big leagues in obtaining legal counsel.

The SFR said its unnamed sources were afraid to come forward for "fear of retaliation." That's a reasonable fear when dealing with Governor Martinez's political bulldogs. But with a high-powered defense attorney and working under the protective wing of Congressman Pearce, Goff--as they might say in the Godfather"--"will be hard to get to."

UDALL AND MARTINEZ

The Sunday Journal carried a front page photo of Governor Martinez with Dem US Senator Tom Udall standing behind her as the politicos reported on the Tres Lagunas fire. It reminds us that the new US Attorney-to-be is Damon Martinez--at one time he was legislative director for Udall. It will be determined on his watch on how serious the Downs investigation is or gets. We're sure Senator Udall takes no pleasure in the political pain this uncertainty is causing the Governor. Nope, none at all....

FOOTNOTES

In our Saturday blog we said that the father of Andrea Goff is state fair commissioner Buster Goff. He is her father-in-law....And a reader tells us Darren White is now VP for Corporate Affairs at the Downs of ABQ, not the general manager as we have recently referred to him....A friend of former Bernalillo County treasurer Pat Padilla points out that we mentioned him Friday as a possible candidate for state auditor. That can't be as Pat has already announced he will seek the Dem nomination for state treasurer next year...
A JUNE ELECTION

As we turn the calender to June that ABQ October mayoral election is starting to come into focus. but before that we have an election right under our noses...

It's time once again for that below-the-radar event knows as the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District election. But with New Mexico's long drought front and center, this esoteric election that will be held tomorrow (election info here) should probably be drawing more attention.

Four seats are up for election on the seven member board--two in Bernalillo County, one in Sandoval and one in Socorro. Here's a rundown on the Bernalillo County action from one of our readers closely watching the action:

Incumbent Karen Dunning is being challenged by former MRGCD member Jim Roberts. Incumbent Adrian Oglesby is being challenged by Louis Trujillo (and Andrew Leo Lopez, whose name will be on the ballot, but who just passed away).

Dunning, a Democrat and Oglesby, an independent, are running as a slate. Their web site is Protect the Valley. Republican Roberts and Democrat Trujillo are also running as a slate: Their web site is Keep the Valley Green.

Given the prolonged drought we're experiencing, this election should be receiving top notice. Now more than ever we need ethical and responsible elected officials managing our water.

Thanks for that. And here's some more. Republican leader Allen Weh has this endorsement of Roberts. Former Dem State Senator Dede Feldman comes with backing for Dunning and Oglesby. Here's newspaper coverage of all the Bernalillo and Sandoval county candidates.

Reader Raymond Madison of Mesilla, NM and others have asked us to provide more coverage of the state's drought and water shortages. To that end, here is a link to the NM Water Dialogue where they discuss water problems and solutions.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2013 Not for reproduction without permission of the author