Earlier this week, the controversy over a planned development near Benson — about 50 miles from Tucson — went up a notch when Congressman Raul Grijalva announced that the House Natural Resources Committee is calling for a criminal investigation into what caused the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reverse its stance on the project.
The committee’s letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland includes documentation citing meetings the developer of the project, the Villages at Vigneto, had with then-Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and then-Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt, among others.
There is also concern that approval of the development may have been tied to campaign donations for then-President Donald Trump.
To learn more, The Show spoke with Arizona Daily Star environmental reporter Tony Davis.