GOP officials urging embattled Calif. Rep. Doolittle not to seek reelection

[L. Coyote]

GOP officials urging embattled Calif. Rep. Doolittle not to seek reelection
Jackie Kucinich - Jan 09, 2008 - http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/gop-officials-urging-embattled-calif.-rep.-doolittle-not-to-seek-reele-2008-01-09.html


As speculation mounts about his future, Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) is being urged by friends and colleagues not to seek reelection.

Republican operatives fear that if Doolittle does not retire at the end of this Congress and survives what would be a bruising GOP primary, they will lose the nine-term lawmaker’s seat. Doolittle is under an ethics cloud, having had his Virginia house investigated by the FBI last year. Several prominent Republicans are seeking to defeat him in the primary.

According to three well-placed Republican sources, former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) — who lost his seat amid ethics allegations — has called on longtime friend Doolittle to not seek reelection in the interest of keeping the district a GOP stronghold. In the last Congress, Pombo was a panel chairman while Doolittle was a member of GOP leadership. ............

[Ecumenist]

1. I could have sworn that I read here on DU that Doolittle had

already decided NOT to run for re-election. Maybe I'm just delusional and slightly delirious. I have been fighting an industrial strength dose of megaflu for the last week or so.

[L. Coyote]

2. YES, you did, just a few days ago in an article that reported a report reporting such.

But, we are still waiting to hear the horse's something or another utter the decision. Pay the $108 bucks for his lunch, and you might get the word first.

[L. Coyote]

6. Blog: Doolittle Won't Seek Reelection

Blog: Doolittle Won't Seek Reelection
Paul Kiel - Jan 7, 2008 - http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/005031.php

Say it ain't so, John!

The California Majority Report reports (http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&aid=2577&ptid=9) that Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), one of the long-time subjects of the Jack Abramoff investigation, "will announce that he will not seek re-election." That could come as soon as this week, reports John Bresnahan of The Politico. Back in September, Doolittle proclaimed "I am running again. Period."

Ever since Doolittle refused to plead guilty, the Justice Department has evidently been building a bribery case against him. ...........

[AlCzervik]

3. it would be way better if he stayed in so he can then get badly beat by the democratic opponent.

[L. Coyote]

5. A dude named Charlie Browm, by the way.

[AlCzervik]

14. yup district 4 in my attic, i donated to him last time and gave him another

$250 this cycle. Between hin, Will Durston and Al Franken i'm going broke.

[BrotherBuzz]

17. Looks like Ose is thinking of shacking things up a bit, and it may help Charlie.

Doolittle's Out. Is Ose In?

Steven Maviglio

The other shoe is already dropping with the announced retirement of corrupt Congressman John Doolittle. Former Sacramento-area Congressman Doug Ose is weighing getting into the race to challenge the expected entry of former State Sen. Rico Oller.

There is no love lost between the two. Oller faced off against Doug Ose's sister, Mary, when she tried to succeed him for the Congressional seat he retired from. The race was won by now-Congressman Dan Lungren, who benefitted from the nasty head-to-head combat between the politically ambitious Oller and newcomer Ose. Years later, there are still hard feelings between the camps -- enough that might fuel an Ose run.

Ose represents the more moderate wing (or what's left of it) of the Republican Party, much of which still exists in this district. If Oller jumps in and is joined by GOP Assemblyman Ted Gaines, also from the ultra-right wing of the spectrum, Ose has an excellent shot of winning. He also has significant name ID in the district from his years of service in Congress (Oller doesn't even live in the district), not to mention deep pockets that would make it a very expensive primary.

A bitter primary, of course, would certainly help Democrat Charlie Brown in the race.

http://www.camajorityreport.com/index.php?module=articles&func=display&aid=2599&ptid=9

[L. Coyote]

4. Doolittle was Abramoff Island Client's "Hero"

Doolittle was Abramoff Island Client's "Hero"
Paul Kiel - Aug 4, 2006 - http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/001269.php


Why did a congressman from California adopt the cause of a distant cluster of islands that his constituents most likely had never visited, much less heard of?

Two words: Jack Abramoff.

While Tom DeLay was the Northern Mariana Island's "biggest supporter on Capitol Hill," there is another congressman whose efforts for the islands deserve special mention: Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA). Doolittle, who took tens of thousands of dollars from Abramoff and his clients, was such an ardent advocate for the Marianas that Jack Abramoff referred to him in an email as the islands' "hero."

What did he do to deserve such an honor?

A TPMmuckraker investigation shows that Doolittle stayed in close touch with the island's needs through Abramoff and his team. According to billing records from Abramoff's lobbying firm ..................

[L. Coyote]

7. Sept. 27, '07: Prosecutors Subpoena Doolittle in Abramoff Investigation

Prosecutors Subpoena Doolittle in Abramoff Investigation
Laura McGann - Sep 27, 2007 - http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004316.php


Prosecutors subpoenaed Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) for 11 years-worth of records as part of the ongoing Abramoff investigation, the AP reports (http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/09/prosecutors_subpoena_calif_law.php):

Prosecutors recently demanded documents from Doolittle and five staffers, the congressman said. The subpoenas seek "virtually every record including legislative records" for the past 11 years, Doolittle's attorney David Barger said in a news release ......

[L. Coyote]

8. Doolittle received $64,500 in Abramoff-related donations

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) - http://thinkprogress.org/abramoff#rdoolittle

CONTRIBUTIONS — DOOLITTLE RECEIVED $64,500 FROM ABRAMOFF, HIS PARTNERS, AND HIS CLIENTS: Doolittle received $64,500 in Abramoff-related donations between 2001 and 2004.

GIFTS — DOOLITTLE FAILED TO REPORT USE OF ABRAMOFF SKYBOXES: Hayworth, Doolittle, and Ney “were allowed free use of Abramoff’s sports skyboxes for fund-raisers held as long ago as 1999. They didn’t declare the value of the accommodations until records surfaced in ongoing U.S. Senate and criminal investigations of suspected exploitation by the lobbyist in charging six Indian tribes $82 million for representation.”

CRONYISM — ABRAMOFF HIRED DOOLITTLE’S WIFE AND HIS CHIEF OF STAFF: “Abramoff’s connections to Doolittle are also of interest to investigators, sources said. Doolittle’s former chief of staff, Kevin A. Ring, went to work with Abramoff. Doolittle’s wife, Julie, owned a consulting firm that was hired by Abramoff and his firm, Greenberg Traurig, to do fundraising for a charity he founded. Two sources close to the investigation said that Ring, while working for Abramoff, was an intermediary in the hiring of Julie Doolittle’s firm, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc., which last year received a subpoena from the grand jury investigating Abramoff.”

COUSHATTA CAMPAIGN — DOOLITTLE RECEIVED OVER $30,000 FROM ABRAMOFF AND HIS CLIENTS: One of Abramoff’s tribal clients, the Coushattas, “opposed a plan by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians to open a casino at a non-reservation site, expected at the time to be outside Shreveport, La., not far from a casino owned by the Coushattas.” ............

[L. Coyote]

9. Sept. 6, 2007: Doolittle Aides Testify to Grand Jury

Doolittle Aides Testify to Grand Jury
Paul Kiel - Sep 6, 2007 - http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004087.php

The battle to clear Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) name continues! The latest combatants were a pair of Doolittle aides who testified before a grand jury ....

[L. Coyote]

10. Sept 4, 2007: Doolittle Aides Subpoenaed

Doolittle Aides Subpoenaed
Paul Kiel - Sep 4, 2007 - http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/004066.php

Just in case you'd forgotten dead-pol-walking Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) is under federal investigation for his ties to Jack Abramoff, a reminder today:

GOP Rep. John Doolittle's chief of staff and deputy chief of staff have been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury in a federal probe into ties between Doolittle, his wife and jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

[L. Coyote]

11. April 19, 2007: Doolittle Resigns Appropriations Panel Seat "FBI agents searched his house "

Doolittle Resigns Appropriations Panel Seat
Paul Kiel - Apr 19, 2007 - http://www.tpmmuckraker.com/archives/003059.php

From the AP (http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070419/ap_on_go_co/doolittle_abramoff;_ylt=AgUfeAGq8Qa3_Dv1_mMxsCayFz4D):

Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., has decided to temporarily give up his seat on the House Appropriations Committee after FBI agents searched his house as part of a congressional influence-peddling investigation. ......

[XemaSab]

12. Sweet Mormon Jesus

let that guy be finished! :please:

[kineneb]

13. hoping he gets placed in the cell next to Cunningham's...

they could be the start of the "Jack Abramoff Wing" of the prison.

[L. Coyote]

15. The Corrupt Bastards Club should be meeting behind bars, not partying in them.

[L. Coyote]

16. Doolittle to meet with staff amid speculation on future plans

Doolittle to meet with staff amid speculation on future plans
By ERICA WERNER AP - 01/07/2008 - http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_7905094?nclick_check=1


WASHINGTON—GOP Rep. John Doolittle of Rocklin, who is under investigation in a federal influence-peddling scandal, is summoning supporters and aides for meetings later this week amid speculation that he may drop his bid for a 10th term.

Doolittle has denied wrongdoing in his ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff ....

"I am writing to invite you to a Team Doolittle Briefing. Please join with our key supporters for news about our plans for 2008," Doolittle wrote in an e-mail to supporters that was posted on a political blog in his district.

"You have been an important part of my election efforts, and I want you to get the inside news directly from me and my campaign advisers," the e-mail said. The event is to take place Thursday morning in Roseville, Calif., in Doolittle's district.

Separately, Doolittle organized a staff meeting for Wednesday and invited some former aides, ...........