Retiring Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell (R-Colorado) played a much larger and more aggressive role in a federal contracting arrangement than he has admitted, The Denver Post reports.

Campbell has pinned the controversy, now the subject of a criminal probe, on a high-level staffer. But government memorandums, e-mails and other documents show that he personally worked to steer a $1.1 million no-bid contract to a Colorado firm, the paper said.

"We got this money and I made it happen, and I expect it to be followed through," Campbell reportedly said at a meeting with a law enforcement official who was uncomfortable with the arrangement.

Campbell fired his former chief of staff Ginnie Kontnik over the incident and another one related to an alleged kickback. He claims Kontnik lobbied for the no-bid contract and arranged the alleged kickback without his approval but others say he knew what was going on.

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Campbell pushed no-bid contract (The Denver Post 5/30)