The investigation of New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson for "pay-to-play allegations" has taken a back seat to bigger stories recently. Today, though, the AP reported that the governor will not be indicted, and there's one section of the story that is being pasted onto blogs at lightning speed:

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.

Could any blogger worth his or her aching carpals resist this? It's still early, but this story may yet overtake the bigger blogosphere debates of the week.

• Provocative Quote, wrote Ben Smith of Politico, declining to comment further.

• Culture of Corruption: Bill Richardson Edition  Michelle Malkin knows exactly what she thinks of the news. "Well, well, well. Another Obama ally off the hook," she began. "Last month, it was Chris Dodd."

• Killed in Washington  Hot Air and Jonah Goldberg at National Review said it all with this headline, under which they posted the news. "Surprise," added Hot Air, whose Ed Morrissey later added commentary: "What do Bill Richardson and the New Black Panther Party have in common? Both got let off the hook by Attorney General Eric Holder and the Obama Department of Justice." Morrissey was particularly piqued as he considered the current CIA investigations:
  

Apparently, the Obama administration and the Holder DoJ condone this [Richardson's] activity, while pursuing the people who keep America safe from attack.  It’s an interesting set of priorities, and unfortunately not much of a surprise.

• Suspicious  The Charleston Daily Mail's Don Surber isn't buying the dropped investigation. "Maybe there was nothing to it. Dry hole. Dead end," he suggested of the investigation. "And maybe unicorns will give us free health care."
  

• CIA But Not Richardson?  The Scared Monkeys blog agreed with Ed Morrissey, taking issue with the investigation of the CIA prisoner abuse over political corruption.

We'll keep you updated.

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Heather Horn