January 10, 2008

Doolittle To Retire Amid Growing GOP Pressure

UPDATED.

Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., announced today that he will not seek re-election for a 10th term in office, ending months of speculation that he would leave Capitol Hill under the cloud of a federal investigation. "I plan to complete my term and finish my congressional service at the conclusion of this Congress," Doolittle said at a news conference today in his district.

"My wife, Julie, and I have made this decision after much prayer and deliberation. It was not my initial intent to retire, and I fully expected and planned to run again right up until very recently. But it distilled upon us that we were ready for a change after spending almost our entire married lives with me in public service." Doolittle and his wife are under scrutiny as part of the influence-peddling probe of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

In April, the FBI raided Doolittle's Virginia home in pursuit of information regarding work his wife performed for Abramoff. Since then, the lawmaker and several of his aides have been served grand jury subpoenas, and it was unlikely his legal situation would be resolved before the November elections. Doolittle is challenging subpoenas issued to him for office records and said he believed the federal probe of him would be on hiatus for one to two years while courts decide on the constitutionality of the subpoenas.

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Posted at 3:20 PM
Posted to: Congress, Crime, House, Jack Abramoff
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July 31, 2007

House Sends Ethics Bill To Senate

The House voted nearly unanimously in favor of an ethics reform bill this morning, sending the measure to the Senate, where it faces opposition from some Republicans.

By a vote of 411 to 8, lawmakers approved new disclosure rules for earmarks and donations from lobbyists. Democrats are hoping to secure the bill's passage through both houses of Congress before they depart for the August recess at the end of the week. Lobbying reform was a key element of the Democratic leadership's promise to root out the "culture of corruption" -- personified by disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff -- in the 2006 midterm elections.

AP has a breakdown of the bill's key provisions, The Hill delves into the complicated drafting process that led to the version lawmakers approved today, and CongressDailyAM (subscription) reported this morning on the hurdles the package faces in the Senate.

The bill's movement through Congress comes at an awkward time for at least one senator. Alaska Republican Ted Stevens will be casting his vote amid a federal investigation into his dealings with a housing contractor ensnared in a state bribing scandal.

Posted at 1:48 PM
Posted to: Congress, Crime, Jack Abramoff, Senate, Ted Stevens
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July 09, 2007

Stevens Fears Bridge To Unemployment

Alaska Republican Ted Stevens, a one-time Senate appropriations gatekeeper, says he is worried about a Justice Department probe that may target him.

"The worst thing about this investigation is that it does change your life in terms of employment potential," Stevens told AP. "It doesn't matter what anyone says, it does shake you up. If this is still hanging around a year from November, it could cause me some trouble."

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Posted at 6:41 PM
Posted to: Campaigns, Crime, House, Jack Abramoff, Senate, Ted Stevens
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April 19, 2007

Doolittle Steps Down From Panel Amid Probe

Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., has taken a "leave of absence" from the House Appropriations Committee one day after it was reported that the FBI searched his home as part of the Jack Abramoff probe, AP, the New York Times' Caucus blog and The Hill are reporting.

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Posted at 5:25 PM
Posted to: Jack Abramoff
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