In a second blow to House Republicans this week, the FBI raided a business tied to the family of Rep. Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.) Thursday afternoon as part of an ongoing investigation into the three-term lawmaker.
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Little is known about the inquiries into Renzi’s activities, but according to media reports the Justice Department has been running a two-track investigation into Renzi regarding a land deal, as well as a piece of legislation he helped steer that may have improperly benefited a major campaign contributor. It was not immediately clear which investigation the raid pertained to, and neither his attorney nor his spokesman could be immediately reached for comment.
As a result of the raid, Renzi is stepping down from his seat on the House Intelligence Committee, according to a statement from his office obtained Thursday evening by Roll Call.
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UPDATE: CREW has background on the two investigations into Renzi.
There are also suspicions that Paul Charlton, the former U.S. Attorney in Arizona, was purged in part because of his probe into Renzi’s activities. (Gonzales was asked about Charlton today.)http://thinkprogress.org/2007/04/19/renzi-raid/