DESERT DEAL
McCain Pushed Land Swap That Benefits Backer
Friday, May 9, 2008; Page A01
A lone rafter floats on Lynx Lake in the
Prescott National Forest near Prescott, Ariz. The land exchange will expand the
forest. (By Les Stukenberg -- The Daily Courier)
By Matthew
Mosk
Washington Post Staff Writer Friday, May 9, 2008; Page A01
PRESCOTT, Ariz. -- Sen. John McCain championed legislation that will let an Arizona rancher trade remote grassland and ponderosa pine forest here for acres of valuable federally owned property that is ready for development, a land swap that now stands to directly benefit one of his top presidential campaign fundraisers].
Initially reluctant to support the swap, the Arizona Republican became a key figure in pushing the deal through Congress after the rancher and his partners hired lobbyists that included McCain's 1992 Senate campaign manager, two of his former Senate staff members (one of whom has returned as his chief of staff), and an Arizona insider who was a major McCain donor and is now bundling campaign checks. More......
