When Did Susana Know?

When reporters asked Gov. Susana Martinez about Harrison Schmitt refusing to sign papers for his background check — a refusal that led to him withdrawing his nomination for a cabinet position — she said she’d only learned of the development a few moments before.

 However, an e-mail from Schmitt obtained Friday by The New Mexican indicates that Schmitt informed top Martinez aides at least four days before she told reporters she’d just got the news.

Shortly after 7 p.m. last Sunday, Schmitt e-mailed a message to fellow Cabinet secretary nominees telling them he was going to refuse to sign papers clearing the way for an Albuquerque private investigator to conduct a background check on him.

Asked about this Friday, a Martinez spokesman said the governor, when asked about Schmitt  the day before  had just been informed of Schmitt;s "final decision" not to submit the paper.

My story about this is in today's New Mexican.

Schmitt Withdraws

Here's the press release from the governor:

N. HARRISON SCHMITT WITHDRAWS NOMINATION TO LEAD STATE’S ENERGY, MINERALS AND NATURAL RESOURCES DEPARTMENT

 SANTA FE – Governor Susana Martinez issued the following statement following Senator Harrison Schmitt’s decision to withdraw his nomination to serve as the State’s Secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources:
 
“Senator Schmitt is a former NASA astronaut who underwent a complete background check by the Department of Public Safety as part of his nomination process.

“Senator Schmitt was willing to allow a private investigator access to his personal information, but he was not willing to waive that investigator’s liability for any improper actions or use of that information. While one can understand Senator Schmitt’s concerns, complying with the Legislature’s request is necessary to restore public confidence in state government. That’s why I am requiring all of my cabinet secretary designees to comply with that request and this has led to Senator Schmitt withdrawing his nomination. 

“I wish Senator Schmitt the best in his future endeavors and I will work swiftly to find a qualified replacement to lead New Mexico’s Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.”

###

Schmitt Refusing Background Check

Beleaguered cabinet secretary nominee Harrison Schmitt is refusing to submit to a background check, as is required by the Senate Rules Committee.

Schmitt with Gov. Martinez announcing his nomination last month

Gov. Susana Martinez, asked about the refusal by reporters a few minutes ago, said she'd just found out about the refusal a couple of minutes before. She said her transition team had done a thorough investigation, but wanted to learn more before she commented.

Schmitt, a former astronaut and U.S. Senator, is Martinez's choice for secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources. He has been criticized by environmentalists for his view that global warming isn't caused by humans -- as well as comments he made in 2009 on conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' radio show that the environmental movement is full of communists.

I'll post Schmitt's comments about his refusal when, and if, I get it.  Below is Lopez's news release.

Three days ago, at his request, I met with the Secretary Designate of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department, Harrison Schmitt. Mr. Schmitt’s reason for requesting the meeting was to inform me of his refusal to allow a Senate conferee background check, which is a check all designated cabinet secretaries and high level appointed officials undergo as part of the Senate’s confirmation process.


First, I sympathize with Mr. Schmitt’s and all conferees’ discomfort when it comes to the background check process. It is an extensive review that includes a search for any prior criminal convictions and of the Federal Civil Court Records; verification of appointees’ assertions related to financial circumstances or improprieties such as bankruptcies, tax liens, and outstanding loans; and a review of disclosure statements related to potential conflicts of interest and ownership in business entities.


However, the New Mexico State Senate is constitutionally charged with confirming top state government officials because of the tremendous influence and authority and power provided to those individuals in their official government capacity. The forty or so individuals we confirm to these top positions are responsible for expenditures in the billions of dollars, investing the state’s multi-billion dollar pension funds, and promulgating regulations that impact citizens across the entire state of New Mexico.


The New Mexico Senate adopted background checks in 2007. They are part of a procedure that all high-level appointees must undergo as they put themselves forward into positions of public service and public trust. The review process is in place to protect the public and to provide the citizens of our state with an increased sense of confidence in their government. As such, there can be no exceptions to the background review process.


At the Senate Rules Committee hearing on Monday, February 14, we will discuss Mr. Schmitt’s refusal to adhere to the confirmation process. This will not be a hearing of Mr. Schmitt’s qualifications for service, nor to receive public input related to his appointment.


At this time, Mr. Schmitt’s refusal to comply with the background check process has left me with no choice but to oppose his confirmation.

Roundhouse Roundup: More on the Alex Jones Harrison Schmitt Interview

A version of this was published in The Santa Fe New Mexican
January 27, 2011


Radio host Alex Jones is a major name in the world of conspiracy theories. His syndicated radio show has featured “truthers” — people who believe that the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks were an “inside job” by the American government. He’s also discussed President Barack Obama’s plan to sterilize the populace through the water supply and the cloning of human-animal hybrids.

And in July 2009, he did a phone interview with former astronaut and U.S. Sen. Harrison “Jack” Schmitt — Gov. Susana Martinez’s nominee for secretary of the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department.

In fairness, there’s nothing to indicate that Schmitt agrees with Jones on some of his wilder theories. But the former senator had some interesting theories of his own — such as an environmental-movement takeover by “communists” and public schools’ control by “opponents of liberty.”

I can never predict what state senators will or will not ask, but I suspect that some of Schmitt’s statements made on The Alex Jones Show might be brought up during his confirmation hearing. The Senate Rules Committee has yet to schedule hearings for any Cabinet secretary nominees.

Schmitt, who is firmly on record questioning whether climate change is man-made, didn’t dispute Jones when the host called global warming a “government hoax.” Talking about environmentalists, Schmitt said there are individuals. “and a fairly large number, who ... captured the environmental movement and turned it into what previously was considered the communist movement.”

Jones asked him about alleged plans for a “world government,” specifically if Schmitt had heard much talk about that kind of thing when he was in the U.S. Senate.

“It has clearly taken off in recent decades,” Schmitt said. “I think primarily because of the capture of the government school system by the opponents of liberty.”

And now a word from out sponsor: The interview pauses for a commercial for a company called Survival Seed Bank.com, which begins, “The New World Order beast is genetically modifying your food, mixing vegetables with animals and now experimenting with viruses. Without a long-term food solution, you will have just two options: Starve or surrender.”

Susana: He'll push my agenda: On Wednesday, I asked Gov. Susana Martinez about the interview. She said she hadn’t heard it.

“What’s important here is that (Schmitt) is a NASA scientist,” the governor said. “He is a graduate from Harvard, and what is important is that he is going to perform the agenda of my administration. We are going to ensure that we keep the environment safe, that we provide common sense for decisions that are being made, that we don’t make decisions based on politics and ideology.

“So I am confident that he will be pushing for my agenda and not any personal agenda he might have,” Martinez said.

Asked if she thought the environmental movement contains a large number of communists, the governor said, “No.”

Schmitt himself was out of state and couldn’t be reached for comment, a spokeswoman for the Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department said Wednesday.

Stooges for the moon hoax: But it’s not just environmentalists who don’t like Jones’ interview with Schmitt. At least one of Jones’ fellow conspiracy enthusiasts basically accuses Jones of being a running dog of the government, which has perpetrated the “hoax” of manned lunar landings.

 “Schmitt actually blamed the horrible education system in this country for people believing that the Apollo Moon missions were faked,” railed a website called RogueGovernment.com in an article posted in August 2009.

 “In actuality, it is the horrible education system in this country that has led most people to believe that the Apollo Moon missions were real. ... It is sad to see somebody like Jones serving as a gatekeeper and providing credibility to the official story of the Apollo missions by giving a softball interview to Schmitt who like all the other Apollo astronauts are liars and frauds.”

Here's the communist/environmentalist segment of the Jones interview again:



And here's the part where Schmitt defends the reality of the moon landings.

Harrison Schmitt on Alex Jones

Conspiracy-theory rock star Alex Jones took time from his crusade to tell the "TRUTH" about Sept. 11 and warning the masses of Obama's Nightmarish Sterilization Plan to talk to former astronaut and U.S. Sen. Harrison "Jack" Schmitt about the communist ties of environmentalists.

Schmitt, who is Gov. Susana Martinez's nominee for secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources, shared with Jones his view that a “large number” of environmentalists are communists, and that our schools have been captured by “opponents of liberty.” I believe this interview is from 2009.

In fairness, there's nothing to indicate that Schmitt agrees with Jones on some of his wilder theories. But his confirmation hearings by the Senate Rules Committee might get pretty interesting.




UPDATE: I forgot to give a tip of the hat to the Chorizo Report for unearthing this video.

Harrison "Jack" Schmitt to Be New Energy Secretary

Gov. Susana Martinez has tapped a former astronaut and former U.S. senator to be her new secretary of Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources.

Schmitt, 75, was on the last manned flight to the moon in 1972. He was the 12th and last -- or let's be optimistic and say "most recent" man to set foot on the moon. (But, as he pointed out in this morning's press conference, his crewmate Gene Cernan was the last to get back into the Apollo 17 lunar module.)

Republican Schmitt, a New Mexico native who grew up in Silver City, was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1976. He beat incumbent Democrat Joe Montoya. Many believe the turning point in that race came when Montoya gave a speech mocking Schmitt, saying a monkey could be trained to go into space.

Schmitt lost his re-election bid to Jeff Bingaman in 1982.

In recent years, he said, he has worked as a consultant and has served on various boards of energy companies and other businesses. He also has been an adjunct professor in the Department of Engineering Physics of the University of Wisconsin at Madison.

In a 2009 interview in The New Mexican, Schmitt said he did not believe humans were to blame for global warming.

We're very skeptical about the crisis that people are proclaiming in global warming," he told my colleague Tom Sharpe. "Not that the planet hasn't warmed. We know it has or we'd all still be in the Ice Age. But it has not reached a crisis proportion and, even among us skeptics, there's disagreement about how much man has been responsible for that warming."

Though it wasn't listed in the press release, Schmitt also is a pretty good photographer (see below).