Arizona Republican Rep. Rick Renzi has been indicted for conspiracy in a case involving a federal land swap. These land swaps of the public lands to developers, which help increase the risk and cost of forest fires as subdivisions pop up in the national forests, have been one of the great scandals of recent years in Arizona. As developers reap huge profits, the people’s forests are looted.
The Renzi case also figured in the politically motivated firings of U.S. attorneys. Paul Charlton was fired in 2006 as his office was looking into the Renzi case. (If you’re a WSJ Online subscriber, here’s the story that first blew the lid off).
Of course they have gone unexamined by the sleepy local media. Renzi got a free ride in his re-election bid. Oh, and he is McCain’s national co-chair.