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[CA Rep] Doolittle's dealings draw closer scrutiny
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Candidate
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| Contributor | ArmyDem |
| Last Edited | ArmyDem Dec 01, 2005 06:49pm |
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| Category | News |
| Media | Newspaper - Sacramento Bee |
| News Date | Friday, December 2, 2005 12:00:00 AM UTC0:0 |
| Description | By David Whitney and Margaret Talev -- Bee Washington Bureau
Published 2:15 am PST Wednesday, November 30, 2005
WASHINGTON - For more than a year, Rep. John Doolittle's connections with Jack Abramoff, a one-time high-flying Washington lobbyist, have made occasional news.
A company run by Doolittle's wife did work for Abramoff, and the grand jury investigating his activities served her with a subpoena. Doolittle belatedly reported using Abramoff's skybox for a fundraiser. A former Doolittle staffer had joined Abramoff's lobbying team. And records show Abramoff, his associates and their clients, primarily Indian tribes, have contributed at least $140,000 to the Roseville Republican's campaigns and political action committees since 1999.
Now, an admission of criminal wrongdoing by a former partner of Abramoff is boosting scrutiny of Doolittle, who is reported by national news organizations to be among lawmakers and Bush administration officials whose activities interest federal investigators.
Doolittle's office maintains it has heard nothing from the Justice Department or a grand jury looking into Abramoff, and that the congressman has not hired a lawyer in the matter.
"Any suggestion that Representative Doolittle may have had some improper involvement in matters recently disclosed about Mr. Abramoff is based on irresponsible speculation by the media and is completely without merit," Doolittle press aide Laura Blackann said Tuesday.
"Anyone who knows John Doolittle personally is well aware of his character and high standard of ethics," she said. "Any suggestion to the contrary is devoid of any basis whatsoever."
Justice Department officials have refused to say much about the probe, including whether they are investigating Doolittle or others in Congress, other than to acknowledge that a plea agreement earlier this month by Abramoff associate Michael Scanlon may give them leverage as they expand the probe. |
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