John Doolittle

Doolittle "Ready for A Change"

Paul Kiel | January 10, 2008, 2:12PM

Well, Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) finally made his much-anticipated announcement, and curiously enough, the ongoing federal investigation and his near-certain defeat in the Republican primary apparently didn't figure into his decision to retire. From the AP:

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 criminal case is tied up in litigation right now, as he's contested a Justice Department subpoena for congressional records. But that should be wrapped up eventually, so that Doolittle really can get started with that "new chapter" in his life.

Update: The complete statement is below.

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John Doolittle

AP: Doolittle to Make It Official Today

Paul Kiel | January 10, 2008, 11:14AM

I'd hoped they were just wild rumors, but alas! From the AP:

Republican Rep. John Doolittle, who is under investigation in a congressional lobbying scandal, plans to announce his retirement from Congress on Thursday, according to a Republican official who spoke with Doolittle.

John Doolittle

From One Mucked up Pol to Another

Paul Kiel | January 9, 2008, 4:27PM

From The Hill:

According to three well-placed Republican sources, former Rep. Richard Pombo (R-Calif.) — who lost his seat amid ethics allegations — has called on longtime friend Doolittle to not seek reelection in the interest of keeping the district a GOP stronghold. In the last Congress, Pombo was a panel chairman while Doolittle was a member of GOP leadership.

Pombo could not be reached for comment.

John Doolittle

Doolittle Staffer: It's Not Over till It's Over

Paul Kiel | January 8, 2008, 11:12AM

Pretty uninspiring stuff. Here's what Rep. John Doolittle's (R-CA) staffer has for pushback of yesterday's report that he won't be seeking reelection. From the AP:

On Monday Doolittle indicated he would soon disclose his plans.

"I am writing to invite you to a Team Doolittle Briefing. Please join with our key supporters for news about our plans for 2008," Doolittle wrote in an e-mail to supporters that was posted on a political blog in his district....

Separately, Doolittle organized a staff meeting for Wednesday and invited some former aides, according to one of the people invited. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the event was not public.

Doolittle's chief of staff, Ron Rogers, said that Doolittle met quarterly with supporters and the events were nothing unusual.

"His current plans are to seek re-election," Rogers said.

"I'm not going to speculate about what's going to happen in the future," he said.

Update: Here's video of a testy Doolittle shot back in 2006, just before he narrowly won reelection in his heavily Republican district:

John Doolittle

Blog: Doolittle Won't Seek Reelection

Paul Kiel | January 7, 2008, 2:46PM

Say it ain't so, John!

The California Majority Report reports that Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), one of the long-time subjects of the Jack Abramoff investigation, "will announce that he will not seek re-election." That could come as soon as this week, reports John Bresnahan of The Politico. Back in September, Doolittle proclaimed "I am running again. Period."

Ever since Doolittle refused to plead guilty, the Justice Department has evidently been building a bribery case against him. Doolittle, meanwhile, has made quite a pastime of demanding that the DoJ fish or cut bait. All that tough talk hasn't helped his fundraising, and his campaign has increasingly been drained by payments to his wife for her purported fundraising work. Things just aren't like they used to be during the glory days before Abramoff's downfall.