By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
January 9, 2008
WASHINGTON - Republican Rep. John Doolittle of California,
who is under investigation in a congressional lobbying scandal,
said Thursday that he'll retire from Congress at the end of
his current term.
"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," Doolittle said after addressing
supporters in his Northern California district.
"But it distilled upon us that we were ready for a change
after spending almost our entire married lives with me in public
service. We are at peace with this choice and look forward
to starting a new chapter in our lives."
The development comes as Doolittle, in his ninth term, faced
growing political pressure from fellow Republicans who considered
him a liability because of his involvement, along with his
wife, in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation.
House Republicans, still smarting from losing control of Congress
in 2006, are eager to put that ethics taint behind them and
welcomed Doolittle's announcement.
"John's decision was made in the best interests of his
family, his constituents and the House, and I appreciate his
years of service in Congress," Minority Leader John Boehner,
R-Ohio, said in a statement. "My prayers remain with John
and Julie, and I wish them the best as they work to bring this
difficult process to a resolution."
Doolittle came close to losing re-election in 2006 in one
of the most conservative districts in California, and some
in his own party believed he couldn't survive this time around.
He has denied wrongdoing in his ties to Abramoff, the disgraced
former lobbyist whom he considered a close friend. But after
the FBI raided the congressman's Virginia home in April looking
for information about event-planning work that Doolittle's
wife did for Abramoff, the congressman was forced to step down
from the powerful Appropriations Committee.
A flurry of grand jury subpoenas to the congressman and his
aides followed. Party leaders pointedly declined to encourage
Doolittle's re-election plans and his fundraising lagged.
Doolittle is contesting subpoenas for his congressional records
as part of a larger dispute between Congress and the Justice
Department over the scope of criminal investigations of lawmakers.
That made it unlikely that his legal situation would be resolved
before November's election.
For months, Doolittle resisted suggestions that he retire,
branding his GOP critics "weasels." But he faced
mounting legal bills and at least two declared Republican primary
opponents, with others waiting in the wings. Meanwhile, the
Democrat he barely beat in 2006, Charlie Brown, collected 10
times as much money as the incumbent for a rematch.
Doolittle will be the latest in a string of House Republicans
to announce their retirements, although most don't have his
legal problems. Nearly 20 others are headed into voluntary
retirement.
He has a number of ties to Abramoff, including interceding
on behalf of the lobbyist's tribal clients. He received tens
of thousands of dollars in campaign money from Abramoff and
his clients, and unlike other lawmakers he never got rid of
it.
Abramoff's firm employed Julie Doolittle for event planning
work from 2002 to 2004, paying her a total of $66,690. Doolittle
has said prosecutors seem focused on whether his wife did real
work to earn the money. The fundraiser she was hired to plan
ended up getting canceled after the invasion of Iraq in March
2003.
The Abramoff investigation already has led to a dozen convictions,
including a guilty plea from now imprisoned former Rep. Bob
Ney of Ohio.
___
Associated Press reporter Samantha Young contributed to this
report from Roseville, Calif.
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