Lawmaker Leaves Panels After FBI Raid

President Bush, left, is introduced by Rep. Rick Renzi of Arizona, before speaking at a Republican fundraiser, Oct. 4, 2006 in Scottsdale, Ariz. Renzi, is temporarily stepping down from the House Intelligence Committee amid an ongoing federal investigation. In October, Justice Department officials confirmed that Renzi was the subject of an inquiry into a 2005 land swap that would benefit a friend and business associate. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais) (Pablo Martinez Monsivais - AP)

The Senate ethics committee has opened a preliminary inquiry into a call by Sen. Pete Domenici, R-N.M., to then-U.S. attorney David Iglesias, who like Charlton also was later fired. Iglesias says Domenici wanted to know whether indictments that would help Republicans would be returned before the November elections. Told no, Domenici hung up, Iglesias said.

The House ethics committee has also been asked to investigate a separate call from Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., to Iglesias.

For his part, Renzi said the leaked stories and conjecture about the land deal were wrong.

"None of them bear any resemblance to the truth," Renzi said.

Law enforcement officials confirmed in October that they were scrutinizing a land deal that benefited a Renzi friend and business associate who was also a campaign donor. Last Thursday, the FBI raided a Sonoita, Ariz., insurance business owned by Renzi's wife, Roberta.

Renzi has denied any wrongdoing. His lawyer did not return several calls for comment Tuesday.

According to state records and officials involved in the land deal, Renzi helped promote the sale of land that netted his former business partner, James Sandlin, $4.5 million.

The property eventually was to be part of a swap in which potential buyers could exchange it for land owned by the federal government. Such deals are common in the West, where the government owns vast tracts. Renzi had said he wanted to prevent encroaching development near the Fort Huachuca Army post and to protect the environmentally threatened San Pedro River.

But Renzi never introduced legislation in Congress to complete the swap for the new owners.

Tuesday, he said he had asked Rep. Ed Pastor, D-Ariz., to introduce the land exchange bill "so that no one can question the motivation behind the land exchange which I and other leaders from both parties have argued is critical to the future of Arizona."

Pastor said he would think about introducing a new version of the bill. He said he had no immediate plans to do so.

House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, said Tuesday that he appreciated Renzi's decision.

"I know it was made with the best interests of the House, his constituents and his family in mind, and I look forward to seeing this matter resolved swiftly," Boehner said in a statement.

The raid on Renzi's business happened the same day that Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., temporarily stepped down from the House Appropriations Committee. Doolittle is under scrutiny for his ties to former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

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Associated Press writer Laurie Kellman contributed to this report.