Tick-Tock for Doolittle

by dday [courtesy of Calitics - Front Page]

Just to reiterate what juls reported in the Calitics quickie, John Doolittle's tenure as a US Congressman is rapidly coming to an end.  What we have seen throughout most of these corruption cases is that when they come for the Chief of Staff, the representative is soon to follow.  This was the case with Bob Ney, and now Doolittle's former CoS is cooperating with the Feds.

David Lopez, former chief of staff for Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), has provided ?several hundred pages? of documents to federal prosecutors ?investigating Doolittle and his wife in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal.?

Lopez?s name has previously surfaced in connection with Abramoff. He took a trip to Puerto Rico in 2001 paid for by Abramoff?s firm, although House rules prohibited trips paid for by registered lobbyists; Lopez said he?d consulted with the Ethics Committee and intended to abide by the rules.

Lopez is a small fish, and if he's flipping on Doolittle it's pretty much over for him.  Kevin Ring, another former staffer, is already caught up in the investigation.  I would imagine that it only takes one guy like this to provide the smoking gun evidence needed.  A telling sign is that there are wildfires happening in Doolittle's district right now, the kind of event where Congressmen are almost always out in front showing leadership, and yet Doolittle has done little except sending out a tiny press release.  He has a prime opportunity, but needs to keep a low profile right now.

This is an opportune time to mention that the Democratic candidate in Doolittle's district needs your help and some of your cash at the end of the quarter.  Retired Lt. Col. of the Air Force Charlie Brown is a great candidate and an even better person.  I'm proud to say he's even blogged on my computer!  Give at the Calitics Act Blue page, and if you're around SF or LA, join us at our Q2 bar events (Charlie Brown himself will be at the San Francisco event, I hear, and down in SoCal we've got queen of the blogosphere Digby joining us).