Worldandnation: Amid Abramoff scandal, he resigns committee seat

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Amid Abramoff scandal, he resigns committee seat

By WASHINGTON POST
Published April 20, 2007

WASHINGTON - Less than a week after the FBI raided the northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., the congressman gave up his coveted seat on the House Appropriations Committee amid concerns that he had used that post to advance the interest of convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff and other allies.

"I understand how the most recent circumstances may lead some to question my tenure on the Appropriations Committee," the nine-term conservative wrote Thursday in a letter to House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio. "Therefore, I feel it may be in the best interest of the House that I take a temporary leave with seniority from this committee until this matter can be resolved."

Boehner accepted the decision, saying it "is in the best interest of the House and the American people."

"John recognizes that if we are to succeed in restoring trust between the American people and their elected leaders, this action is necessary," Boehner said in a statement released by Doolittle.

Doolittle's wife, Julie, operates Sierra Dominion Financial Services from the couple's home in Oakton. Since 2005, a Justice Department task force has been looking into payments made by Abramoff and other lobbyists to Doolittle's wife and the spouses of other lawmakers. Last Friday's raid came on the same day that Doolittle's former legislative director, Kevin Ring, abruptly resigned as a lobbyist for Barnes & Thornburg. Ring had been an intermediary in Abramoff's hiring of Julie Doolittle's firm as a fundraiser for a charity.

Doolittle also helped steer millions of dollars in military funding to one of the defense contractors tied to the bribery conviction of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Calif.

Democratic activists have been watching the Doolittle case for more than a year. His 2006 challenger, former military pilot Charlie Brown, held Doolittle to 49 percent of the vote, nearly beating him in a strongly Republican district after he made Doolittle's alleged ethical problems a central campaign theme.