Doolittle setting up fund for legal fees [View All]

[Robbien]

Source: Auburn Journal

U.S. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, said Friday that he's moving toward establishing a legal defense fund to raise money to cover increasing legal costs connected to what he described in a prepared statement as a fight to save his reputation.

. . .

The probe clouded Doolittle's election win in November. The nine-term congressman for the sprawling Northern California Fourth District had consistently won more than 60 percent of the vote in previous elections. But in November, despite visits by President George Bush and First Lady Laura Bush in the month prior to the election and the relative lack of name recognition for his Democrat challenger, Doolittle mustered 49 percent of the vote to newcomer Charlie Brown's 46 percent.

. . .

Doolittle's house was searched on Friday, April 13. He was in his district at the time he learned of the afternoon search, he said. Doolittle said he was on his way to Oroville for a lunch meeting that he decided to cancel when he got word by phone. Agents left with three computers and the contents of two large filing cabinets filled with files related to his wife's business, Doolittle said.

. . .

On the question of whether he was considering a lawsuit, Doolittle said he could not answer the question. "There will be more interesting things to come in the future," Doolittle said.

Read more: http://www.auburnjournal.com/articles/2007/04/22/news/top_stories/02doolittle22.txt

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Setting up a defense fund is the standard next step of GOP criminal indictments. Slowly this may work its way through to the end.

Other GOP investigations

On successive days, Wednesday and Thursday, Reps. John Doolittle, of California, and Rick Renzi, of Arizona, disclosed FBI raids, proclaiming their innocence but exposing their legal jeopardy.
. . .

Rep. Heather Wilson, R-N.M., faces a possible ethics investigation amid accusations that she pressured now-fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias to indict New Mexico Democrats before last year's fall elections.

Rep. Gary Miller, R-Calif., under investigation by the FBI for a series of land deals, is facing Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) ads alleging he lied about a land sale that he declined to pay taxes on. Footage shows Miller repeatedly pleading with Monrovia, Calif., officials to buy 165 acres of his property. Miller made more than $10 million off the 2002 sale, but he sheltered the profits from capital-gains taxes by claiming the sale was forced under threat of eminent domain.

Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Calif., faces FBI scrutiny of his work as House Appropriations Committee chairman, and his campaign filings this month showed he has racked up $892,951.69 since July in legal fees.

And for the first time, Rep. Tim Murphy, R-Pa., reported significant legal fees — $15,620.60 — in his campaign filing this month, as he tries to stave off accusations that he used taxpayer-funded congressional staff members and resources to do political work.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003676386_gop22.html