ABRAMOFF-Gate: Rep. Doolittle says he won't resign, 2 more Congresspersons get searched by FBI

[L. Coyote]

Thu, May. 03, 2007
CONGRESS Congressman in Abramoff probe says he won't resign
By David Whitney - McClatchy Newspapers
http://www.realcities.com/mld/krwashington/17174770.htm


WASHINGTON - Rep. John Doolittle, bucking pundits in The Wall Street Journal, The Sacramento Bee and other newspapers, said Thursday that he wouldn't resign his seat in the House of Representatives because investigators were looking at his wife and him in the ramped-up federal corruption investigation arising out of the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal.

"There is no way I am stepping down," Doolittle declared in a telephone news conference with California reporters. "I am not resigning. Absolutely not."

The California Republican suggested that the Abramoff investigation soon could spread even wider.

Doolittle said he had information from sources he wouldn't name that federal agents had executed search warrants recently against two other members of Congress - a Republican and a Democrat - in raids that hadn't become public yet. He said he thought that those raids were related to the Abramoff probe.

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[maddezmom]

1. K&R

:hi:

[Greeby]

2. This seems to be a theme, this not resigning thing

Wonder how a few indictments might change some minds :evilgrin:

[spanone]

3. As stubborn as his King.

[Norquist Nemesis]

4. Time to name names. Which Con and which Dem?

And yes, Dolittle should step down.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

5. Doolittle might have said that...

About raids on others, but it does not make it true.

Riddle me this, Batman: If two members of Congress, one especially being a Dem, would that not have been leaked by the DoJ, especially in this present climate?

[Norquist Nemesis]

9. Good point.

Although, since it's McClatchey (former Knight-Ridder) it has a higher credibility ring for me than other news organizations do. However, given (as you say) the climate of the DOJ, it wouldn't suprise me to learn that they raided Waxman. And THAT would be a real fishing expedition!

[L. Coyote]

11. WHO received large campaign donations from ABRAMOFF is well-known.

However, some of those are "honest-to-the-core" individuals and inferences of corruption do not follow on all lobbyists groups supporting candidates. They really throw the money everywhere. However, if someone went to St. Andrews for a golf outing.......

[L. Coyote]

6. KEVIN RING, Doolittle's Ex-Aide, Could Be Liability for Lawmaker

Ex-Aide Could Be Liability for Lawmaker
http://www.kstp.com/article/stories/S76773.shtml?cat=89


As California GOP Rep. John Doolittle awaits prosecutors’ next move in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, his future is tied to that of a former aide who also worked with Abramoff.

Kevin Ring, Doolittle’s one-time legislative director, quit his lobbying job last month, the same day FBI agents raided Doolittle’s Virginia home. They had a search warrant for a fundraising business run there by Doolittle’s wife, Julie, that had done work for Abramoff’s firm.

Doolittle said Thursday he understands his wife’s work might be under scrutiny.

"That’s the issue, apparently, that Julie didn’t do any real work ... their theory seems to be that she’s a conduit," Doolittle told reporters. "And there’s clear evidence that disproves that."

Ring, a 36-year-old married father of two, figures prominently in his former boss’ connections to Abramoff, a friend of Doolittle’s who gave the congressman campaign cash and use of his sports box. ............

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[L. Coyote]

7. Doolittle defiant: 'They have to drag me out' SEARCH: Computers Taken

Doolittle defiant: 'They have to drag me out'
WILLIAM FERCHLAND, - May 4, 2007
http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/TD/20070504/NEWS/105040066/-1/REGION


Stressing his innocence and the inculpability of his wife in a federal investigation, Congressman John Doolittle said he's not worried about possible legal and political doom.

Doolittle, R-Rocklin, added he will not resign in the wake of temporarily stepping down from the House Appropriations Committee after federal investigators searched his Virginia home and confiscated records pertaining to his wife's business.

"They have to drag me out. There is no way I'm stepping down," he said during a Thursday telephone conference with reporters.

The embattled and anxious Doolittle said he is unsure why Department of Justice investigators have not reviewed the client files of his wife, Julie, when they were taken during a warranted search last month.

Three computers and the contents of two filing cabinets tied to Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc., a fundraising and event-planning outfit, were taken.

Sierra Dominion has done work for convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff's former firm, Greenberg Traurig. ..........

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[Greeby]

8. Okey dokey

Boys! Get draggin!

[L. Coyote]

10. DOOLITTLE: "said he did not know the other congressmen's names."

Doolittle says other lawmakers also raided
By Dave Moller, [e-mail]
4:01 a.m. PT May 4, 2007
http://www.theunion.com/article/20070504/NEWS/105040177


Two other congressmen were raided by federal authorities when his home was invaded by FBI agents in April, Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, revealed Thursday.

"One's a Democrat and one's a Republican," Doolittle said ....the raids were related to the ongoing federal investigation of jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who had business contacts with Doolittle's wife Julie Doolittle. She raises funds for her husband and others through her political consulting firm.

Doolittle said he would draw a page from media practice by only saying "well-placed sources" had advised him of the raids, which had not become public until his pronouncement. He said he did not know the other congressmen's names. ........

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[L. Coyote]

12. "Doolittle's wife, ...contracts for unspecified work from Abramoff while Doolittle was helping.."

Dan Walters: Doolittle's reign may be ending
By Dan Walters - Bee Columnist

Published 12:00 am PDT Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Story appeared in MAIN NEWS section, Page A3
http://www.sacbee.com/111/story/164648.html


Republican Rep. John Doolittle barely won re-election in his suburban-mountain district east of Sacramento last November even though his party holds an immense (18-percentage-point) voter advantage, thanks to a torrent of revelations about his unseemly relationship with disgraced Washington influence-peddler Jack Abramoff.

In the six months since the election, the news has gotten even worse for Doolittle, including an FBI raid on his suburban Washington home, apparently seeking documents about that relationship, and reports that Kevin Ring, a former Doolittle aide who later went to work for Abramoff, is talking to federal prosecutors.

Doolittle has stepped down -- temporarily, he says -- from his powerful position on the House Appropriations Committee, and while he continues to insist that he's done nothing illegal and is mystified about the direction of the federal investigation, there's little doubt that his political career is irreparably damaged, even if he escapes prosecution. The fact that Doolittle's wife, Julie, received contracts for unspecified work from Abramoff while Doolittle was helping Abramoff's clients is a political smoking gun, if not a legal one. ..........

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[L. Coyote]

13. Will Doolittle do time?

Will Doolittle do time?
Does the downfall of a local congressman mean something more than the latest corruption of a politician?
By Ralph Brave
http://www.newsreview.com/sacramento/Content?oid=318713


Whatever the ultimate outcome of the U.S. Department of Justice’s ongoing investigation into Congressman John T. Doolittle and his wife, Julie--and it’s been going on for three years now--clearly his political career is over....

Reflective of this reality .... the FBI could have raided Doolittle’s home, as they did on April 13, “only after a judge has issued a search warrant in response to government claims that there is probable cause that a crime has been committed.” California Democratic Party strategist Bob Mulholland has little doubt about what’s happening. “I think the Republican Party will try to throw Doolittle to the wolves,” he said in an interview. “Once you get a 'Dear John’ letter from the FBI, no one returns your phone calls.”

Doolittle’s fall from being a member of the ruling Republican leadership in the House of Representatives to becoming a target in a U.S. Department of Justice corruption investigation follows a pattern similar to that of his Republican congressional brethren who are already in jail or might soon be. ....

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Avalanche of animus
First, the personal qualities and character of Doolittle must openly and frankly be dealt with, for there is no figure currently on the California political stage who has consistently engendered as much overt loathing and disgust as Doolittle--as much from members of his own party as from his ideological counterparts. When he was fined by the Fair Political Practices Commission for laundering money to swing his 1984 election, his defeated opponent, former Senate Republican colleague Ray Johnson, foresaw that it would not be an adequate penalty to stop future misbehavior. “Oh God,” Johnson lamented in 1987 in the California Journal, “can’t we just drown him and get it over with?” A year after that comment, on the verge of Doolittle winning re-election based on another vicious campaign, Sacramento Bee columnist Pete Dexter couldn’t constrain his contempt. In print he pronounced Doolittle “a lying, unprincipled, crooked piece of human garbage.” Even for Dexter, this was strong stuff. .......................

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[EFerrari]

14. Please let it be Duncan Hunter. n/t

[SoCalDem]

15. Or that cretin, Jerry Lewis n/t

[BrotherBuzz]

16. I'd like to see Darrell Issa on that short list, too. n/t

[EFerrari]

17. Rohrabacher (sp?). n/t

[cascadiance]

18. Or Brian Bilbray!

Perhaps that's too much to wish for given his length of stay in office now, even though he used to be a lobbyist and has been tied to the Marianas Island trips earlier!

Then a personal friend of mine, who just announced his candidacy last weekend for district 50, could get an earlier start to get into office and perhaps be a part of the "impeachment" party!

[EFerrari]

19. There's something rotten in California.

lol

Oh dear.

[L. Coyote]

20. "and perhaps be a part of the "impeachment" party!"

That has such a nice ring to it?

[L. Coyote]

21. Pete Jackson: "completely new ...definitions of spin, fraud, fabrication, corruption, incompetence..

Op-Ed / Pete Jackson: Secrecy-It’s what’s for dinner
Published: Friday, May 4, 2007 10:53 AM CDT
http://www.thesuntimes.com/articles/2007/05/04/news/news13.txt


Something to think about. Folks, the last six years of the Bush administration have provided us with completely new concepts and definitions of spin, fraud, fabrication, corruption, incompetence, lying, etc. Facts have never confused this crowd, primarily because they never considered them. The evidence is overwhelming. But I will give them their due--to get us into the present mess in the Middle East required deception on a grand scale.

The good news is that the national election of 2006 has reintroduced our country to the role of meaningful oversight. This responsibility falls within the purview of our Congress, no matter what party is in the majority. Also, with the restoration of 1) the subpoena and 2) testimony under oath, the real prospect of accountability has arrived.

To get to the bottom of this tragedy will be a very, very long and hard slog--with active administration resistance the order of the day. With this in mind, I predict that towards the end of 2008 we will be in real shock at the breadth and depth of the malfeasance and lawlessness created by this administration.

One of the major factors that allowed this precipitous descent from reality and truth is the penchant for secrecy that the principal actors in this administration embrace. This illegitimate use of secrecy coupled with ample doses of fear and fabrication has torn the very fabric of our society.

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[L. Coyote]

22. At Least 11 Members of Congress Now Under Investigation

At Least 11 Members of Congress Now Under Investigation
Submitted by Elliott Fullmer on Thu, 05/03/2007 - 15:47.
http://www.prwatch.org/node/6013


While Congress has been busy dealing with issues such as the Iraq War, the U.S. attorney firings controversy, and the federal minimum wage this year, some members have had their attention diverted by legal problems. By our count, eleven members of Congress (and ten former members who departed with the 109th Congress) are currently the subject of an ongoing criminal investigation. Over the past few weeks, new details have emerged in several of these cases. Here’s a quick rundown of the latest info (with the appropriate background):

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SEE: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x831278