Congressman in Inquiry on Lobbying Will Retire
By PHILIP SHENON
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Representative John T. Doolittle, a California Republican who has suggested he is almost certain to face criminal charges in a Congressional lobbying scandal, announced Thursday that he would retire from the House next year.
The announcement by Mr. Doolittle, 57, who is in his ninth term in Congress and was once seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, made no reference to the criminal investigation by the Justice Department, which has centered on his connections to the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Last April, Mr. Doolittle’s home in suburban Virginia was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of that inquiry, and his wife, a campaign fund-raiser, was subpoenaed for her financial records.
Mr. Doolittle acknowledged last year that he was being pressured by the Justice Department to accept a plea bargain and confess to criminal corruption charges involving his ties to Mr. Abramoff. He said the raid was an effort to coerce him to “admit to a crime that I did not commit.”
His decision not to seek re-election in November was welcomed by his party’s leaders in the House, who had quietly made known that they wanted Mr. Doolittle to step down to make way for a Republican successor in his Republican-leaning district. He had trouble holding onto his seat in the 2006 election as a result of his legal troubles.
(Continued here.)
New York Times
WASHINGTON — Representative John T. Doolittle, a California Republican who has suggested he is almost certain to face criminal charges in a Congressional lobbying scandal, announced Thursday that he would retire from the House next year.
The announcement by Mr. Doolittle, 57, who is in his ninth term in Congress and was once seen as a rising star in the Republican Party, made no reference to the criminal investigation by the Justice Department, which has centered on his connections to the corrupt lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Last April, Mr. Doolittle’s home in suburban Virginia was raided by the Federal Bureau of Investigation as part of that inquiry, and his wife, a campaign fund-raiser, was subpoenaed for her financial records.
Mr. Doolittle acknowledged last year that he was being pressured by the Justice Department to accept a plea bargain and confess to criminal corruption charges involving his ties to Mr. Abramoff. He said the raid was an effort to coerce him to “admit to a crime that I did not commit.”
His decision not to seek re-election in November was welcomed by his party’s leaders in the House, who had quietly made known that they wanted Mr. Doolittle to step down to make way for a Republican successor in his Republican-leaning district. He had trouble holding onto his seat in the 2006 election as a result of his legal troubles.
(Continued here.)
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1 Comments:
OK so no surprise that Doolittle is running away due to lobbyist activities, but considering the efforts to effect the “Revolving Door of Congressman to Lobbyist”, should Richard Baker (R-LA) be considering becoming the next president and CEO of the Managed Funds Association. That’s the folks that protected the Hedge Fund industry causing the ATM legislation to be passed without it being paid for (over the objections of McCollum and Walz).
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