WASHINGTON -- President Barack Obama said Friday he would nominate former U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker to the Broadcasting Board of Governors, despite Crocker's guilty plea last year to reckless driving in connection with a hit-and-run crash while he was intoxicated.
Crocker, the former ambassador to Afghanistan, was originally charged with a DUI, but reached a deal with prosecutors in November that allowed him to plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge in the Aug. 14 crash in Washington state. His drivers' license was suspended for 30 days and he was required to pay a $1,000 fine.
Crocker told a judge he was "extremely sorry" for the wreck and promised it would "never happen again.” His attorney said Crocker had brain surgery shortly before the hit-and-run, but did not deny he had been drinking. Breath tests after the crash showed Crocker's blood-alcohol content at .160 and .152. Washington's legal limit of drunkenness is .08.
The Broadcasting Board of Governors oversees all non-military international broadcasts sponsored by the U.S. government.
Here's the biography of Crocker sent by the White House at 5:57 p.m. on Friday:
Ambassador Ryan C. Crocker is the Kissinger Senior Fellow at Yale University, a position he has held since October 2012. He is also the James Schlesinger Distinguished Visiting Professor at the University of Virginia, a position he has held since March 2013. From 2011 to 2012, he served as Ambassador to the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan. Previously, Ambassador Crocker was Dean and Executive Professor at the Bush School of Government and Public Service at Texas A&M University. His 37-year career in the Foreign Service included service as U.S. Ambassador to Iraq, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, and Lebanon. He is a Member of the Council on Foreign Relations and the Board of Trustees of Whitman College. Ambassador Crocker is a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the Presidential Distinguished Service Award, the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award, and the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Civilian Service. Ambassador Crocker received a B.A. from Whitman College.
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