So it looks like Rep. Rick Renzi (R-AZ) is tied up in the US Attorney Purge scandal after all. And the AP has the story.
This gets a bit complicated but here goes.
Purged US Attorney 
Paul Charlton was talking to House investigators this afternoon when he made an important revelation. Weeks before election day 2006, word leaked to the press in Arizona that Charlton’s office was investigating Renzi. Renzi’s top aide Brian Murray then called Charlton’s office and asked Charlton’s spokesman, Wyn Hornbuckle.
Unlike what happened with David Iglesias, Charlton’s chief investigator did report the contact to the Department of Justice, as DOJ regs dictate.
Now, here’s the key: after all Congress’s document and information requests to DOJ, the Justice Department had not revealed the Renzi-Charlton contact. For some reason, they’ve held that back.
The AP sources that to a House Judiciary Committee official and I’ve also confirmed with House Judiciary investigators that the DOJ failed to give this information to congressional investigators.
Renzi’s guy Murray released this statement this evening …
“Reports that I called Wyn Hornbuckle, press secretary to Paul Charlton are true. I called Mr. Hornbuckle seeking information about press accounts which appeared just weeks before election-day, alleging a pending indictment. I left him a message asking for information about these allegations, but I was called back and told they would not comment.”
So basically what we have here is a classic scandal harmonic convergence — new nuggets about the Renzi scandal and the revelation that another of the US Attorney firings may be tied to an investigation of a Republican lawmaker. At a minimum, the DOJ has concealed critical information about the story.
And one other detail to add to the mix. Remember that two weeks after his dismissal, Charlton emailed his superiors at the Department of Justice asking how to handle questions over whether his firing was tied to his investigation of Rep. Renzi (R-AZ).
