Free Republic

A few weeks ago, the New York Times tried to manufacture a McCain land deal scandal and today it’s the Washington Post’s turn. The front-page headline of Post staff writer Matthew Mosk’s story is titled “McCain Pushed Land Swap that Benefits Backer.” It says McCain negotiated a land swap to allow Arizona rancher Fred Ruskin to exchange his checkerboard of property located in the Prescott National Forest for an equal piece of continuous federal land that was later sold for development. Mainly because the developer, Steven A. Betts, who purchased the land from Ruskin is a donor to McCain’s presidential...

U.S. Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz. (the presumptive Republican presidential nominee), is facing questions about his ties to Arizona real estate developers and home builders. DNC Chairman Howard Dean and Arizona Democratic Party spokeswoman Emily Bittner pointed Friday to recent stories by 'The New York Times' and the 'Washington Post' on McCain backing land deals involving SunCor Development Co., Del Webb Corp., and developers Donald Diamond and Fred Ruskin. The deals involved parcels and projects in the Phoenix area, Northern Arizona and Nevada. Republicans dismissed the stories and Democrats' criticism, saying the deals had bipartisan support and were done to benefit...

Donald R. Diamond, a wealthy Arizona real estate developer, was racing to snap up a stretch of virgin California coast freed by the closing of an Army base a decade ago when he turned to an old friend, Senator John McCain. ...Courting local officials and potential partners, Mr. Diamond’s team promised that he could “help get through some of the red tape in dealing with the Department of the Army” because Mr. Diamond “has been very active with Senator McCain,” a partner said in a deposition. ... A longtime political patron, Mr. Diamond is one of the elite fund-raisers Mr....