Allegations of Ranch Deal Threaten Mccain's Clean Image

Left to campaign under the radar as attention focuses on the Democratic race, the Republican John McCain yesterday faced renewed scrutiny of his ties to businesspeople and lobbyists during his years in the Senate.

The Washington Post reported that McCain pushed legislation through Congress for an Arizona housing development that benefited one of the senator's main presidential fund raisers.

It was the second report this election season to raise questions about McCain's reputation as a crusader against the influence of money in politics.

But the timing of the report could prove more critical to McCain, with Barack Obama so close to securing the Democratic nomination and eager to begin moving forward on the presidential contest.

McCain has exposed himself to criticism for his efforts to withdraw from public financing of his presidential campaign - because he was one of the architects of campaign finance legislation.

The newspaper said the project allowed a rancher, Fred Ruskin, to trade 22,300 hectares (55,000 acres) of grassland and forest for prime development land, in what was one of the largest such deals in Arizona.

McCain, who was initially opposed to the project, had a change of heart after Ruskin and his partners hired a number of McCain's former aides and fund raisers as lobbyists, including a former campaign manager. Ruskin also paid $60,000 (£30,800) to another former McCain aide, Michael Jimenez, the newspaper said.

After McCain's legislation passed in November 2005, Ruskin hired developer Steven Betts, one of McCain's most generous donors, to build up to 12,000 homes on the land. Betts, who raised $100,000 for McCain's presidential campaign this year, told the newspaper there was no connection between his financial support for McCain and the development deal.

The deal had public support in Arizona, but was criticized by conservationists as "a rip-off to the public".

The story follows a lengthy investigation in the New York Times last February, as McCain was on the verge of sealing the Republican nomination, about his association with a telecommunications lobbyist, Vicki Iseman.

The paper said McCain had written letters to the federal communications commission on behalf of two TV stations owned by Iseman's client.