FBI RAIDS CHEZ DOOLITTLE. HE HASN'T BEEN ARRESTED YET

I don't think the FBI needed to read our Doolittle story on Monday to figure out they needed to raid John Doolittle's Oakton, Virginia house. They should have done it long ago, in fact, before he and his moll had a chance to destroy evidence. Most people are guessing that Kevin Ring, a Doolittle bagman who worked for Abramoff and with Julie, has turned state's evidence to save his own worthless neck.

The Hill is reporting that the FBI actually searched the Doolittle's lair Friday. It looks like Doolittle was trying to keep it secret, not even telling Boehner.

The search took place on the same day that his former chief of staff, Kevin Ring, abruptly resigned from his lobbying firm. Ring left Doolittle’s office to work for Abramoff at the law firm Greenberg Traurig and may have played a role in Abramoff’s decision to hire Julie Doolittle’s consulting firm. After the Abramoff scandal broke, Ring went to work for the lobbying firm, Barnes and Thornburg.

Doolittle came within three percentage points of losing his election in November after facing months of scrutiny over his relationship with Abramoff, who is in jail for an array of fraud, bribery and money-laundering charges. The lawmaker has denied any wrongdoing.

Throughout his campaign, Doolittle refused to return an estimated $50,000 he received from Abramoff clients, mostly tribes, between 1999 and 2004. Abramoff also personally donated $14,000 between 1999 and 2004 to Doolittle’s congressional campaigns.

Doolittle used Abramoff’s luxury sports box for a fundraiser without initially reporting it to the Federal Election Commission.

Doolittle also has been under fire for paying his wife’s company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, a 15 percent commission on all contributions that the company raised for Doolittle’s campaign committee and leadership PAC. Her only other clients were Abramoff’s former firm, Greenberg Traurig; Abramoff’s former restaurant Signatures; and the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council, which Ed Buckham, a former chief of staff to ex-Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas), created.

The Justice Department previously subpoenaed Julie Doolittle’s files.

Doolittle also received contributions from indicted defense contractor Brent Wilkes and his associates, and investigators are probing whether those contributions are linked to any official action Doolittle took to help Wilkes’ company obtain millions of dollars in government earmarks.

Wilkes recently was indicted in connection with his investigation stemming from former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) bribery conviction and jailing.

Charlie Brown, who nearly beat Doolittle last year and is well positioned to win the seat next year, issued a statement: "This is a sad day for the people of the 4th District, for our Congress, and our country.  It is my sincere hope that the ongoing investigation will bring the era of corruption and scandal ridden politics to a close, so that we can move forward on addressing the real priorities of the American people:  like ending the war in Iraq, winning the war against Terrorism, securing our borders, keeping faith with our veterans, expanding economic opportunity, and achieving energy independence." Charlie's one of the most upstanding and all-American guys I ever met. Please join me in helping to make sure he has enough money to go into battle against Doolittle-- or whatever Doolittle-clone the GOP finds if the original model is in prison he has to fight-- right here


UPDATE: FBI RAID HITS THE WIRES


The Associated Press newswire is reporting that the search "the search last Friday focused on records of Doolittle's wife's company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions." That company was one of the ways Doolittle was laundering bribes into his personal account from crooks like Ring and Abramoff. Doolittle slyly tried to insinuate to the press that the whole thing is about his wife and not about him!

"My wife has been cooperating with the FBI and the Justice Department for almost three years and that cooperation is going to continue in the future," Doolittle said. "I support my wife 100 percent and fully expect that the truth will prevail."

Yeah, me too. But meanwhile... there's John Doolittle, the video homage to corruption and wingnuttery.