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House asks Department of Justice to investigate southern Arizona development deal

Democrats on the House Natural Resources Committee have asked the Justice Department to investigate possible criminal conduct regarding a development in southern Arizona.

During the Trump administration, an official with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service was asked to reverse his position on a development near the San Pedro River.

The request was unusual — in 30 years, the official’s field work had never drawn much attention from Washington.

The committee, led by Arizona Rep. Raul Grijalva, charges that then-Deputy Interior Secretary David Bernhardt made the request on behalf of a developer and his associates, who contributed more than $241,000 to President Donald Trump and the Republican Party.

Ron Dungan was a senior field correspondent at KJZZ from 2020 to 2024.