The indictment states that in or around September 2005, an official with the group “sought and received assurances from Renzi that the Sandlin Property was an important part of the land deal exchange and that Renzi would introduce [the group’s] legislative proposal.”
The indictment does not detail when or if Renzi crafted that bill and a review of Renzi’s bills in 2005 and 2006 shows that no such measure was introduced.
Sandy Raynor, a spokeswoman for federal prosecutors in Arizona, declined to answer questions beyond what is in the indictment, saying she “can’t speak to the legislation.” However, she said that additional evidence “may be forthcoming” in future court proceedings.[In a statement released too late for Tuesday's printed edition of The Hill, Renzi said he would not resign and repeated that he is innocent of the charges. ”I will not resign and take on the cloak of guilt because I am innocent," Renzi said. "My legal team of Reid Weingarten and Kelly Kramer will handle these legal issues while I continue to serve my constituents.” House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) urged Renzi to resign in a statement released on Friday.] The Renzi case on allegations of quid pro quo legislative maneuvers is more nuanced than Ney’s and Cunningham’s cases where gifts and money were linked to congressional activities such as statements that were put in the Congressional Record and earmarks.
Still, the Renzi indictment includes 35 counts, many of which do not relate to the lawmaker’s legislative activity. They include money laundering and campaign finance allegations.
Renzi’s attorneys did not comment for this article. Last week, they said that Renzi is disputing all the allegations.
Land exchange legislation moves largely unnoticed on Capitol Hill, rarely attracting headlines or intensive oversight because most of the bills are bipartisan and non-controversial. Before clearing on the floors of the upper and lower chambers, the measures move through the House Natural Resources Committee and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. During the last Congress, Renzi sat on the Natural Resources panel.
The Secretary of the Interior can approve some land swaps but many require congressional approval.
Before trading the government’s land for land held privately, there are a set of general standards that must be met, said Tom Gorey, the senior public affairs specialist with the Bureau of Land Management. First, the two pieces of land must be equal in value, and then the land management agency must decide whether the sale in the best interest of the public.
Janine Blaeloch, director of the Western Lands Project, said historically public interest is the last thing that is considered when the exchanges are made through Congress rather than through federal agencies.
“Land deals tend to be fast-tracked and circumvent laws,” such as environment regulations, she said. “They are passed as sort of secret land deals without anyone being aware.”
Blaeloch added that there is very little oversight of the practice and land exchanges usually end up passed in suspension bills or in large omnibus packages. While the process is completely transparent, the details of a land exchange can also be buried in so-called technical corrections bills.
A former staff member of the House Resources Committee agreed that the process is easily abused: “Depending on the size of the land, it’s relatively easy to sneak one of these things through on a technical corrections bill without many people paying attention. Ninety-nine out of 100 are innocuous and perfectly legitimate, but very few people pay attention …it’s not all that sexy.”
The House Natural Resources Committee did not return calls for comment.
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