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December 22, 2007
Doolittle Update
For those of you following this story here is the latest twist...
WASHINGTON - Rep. John Doolittle disclosed Wednesday that his attorneys are fighting a subpoena issued to him for office records dating back 11 years, and that he believes the investigation of him will be on hiatus for one to two years while the constitutionality of the subpoena is fought out in the courts.
Justice Department spokesman Peter A. Carr declined comment and Doolittle's attorney, David A. Barger, did not immediately return a call. Earlier, Barger declined to talk to The Bee about the subpoena or even whether he was fighting it, saying the Doolittle investigation is being conducted under a seal of secrecy.
If true, the development means that Doolittle will head into the 2008 elections under a cloud that almost cost him his seat last November, when Democratic challenger Charlie Brown came within three percentage points of beating him. Brown is running again for the seat, and as of Sept. 30 when the latest campaign filings with the Federal Election Commission were released, he was far ahead of Doolittle in fundraising.
But Doolittle insisted he will be in the race next year. If elected to a 10th term, Doolittle would be on the way to qualifying for maximum retirement benefits available only after 20 years of service.
Posted by Post Scripts at December 22, 2007 11:37 AM
Comments
Hi Jack -
Here's the deal:
1. The bee is annoyed that the investigation is grinding to a halt and needed to put this story up in a news vacuum about Doolittle.
2. The subpoenas in question are similar to those the Democrats were trying to get from Cheney's energy commission or those the Dems were trying to get when they were derailing the confirmation of Miguel estrada.
The precedent here is dangerous... if the Courts make a politically biased decision and allow the Feds to go fishing through 11 years of private conversations between the Congressman and whomever it will have a chilling effect on governance.
The bottom line is that the DOJ has subpoenaed people who did not work for John when the Abramoff thing went down and now they are fishing.
I will have more for you on this later - but suffice to say... I spoke with Julie Doolittle at length last weekend and what the DOJ is doing now underscores the feeble nature of their case.
Stay tuned - and Merry Christmas!
Posted by: Aaron Park at December 22, 2007 03:25 PM
I have no idea of Doolittle's guilt or innocence, but he's behaving like a guilty person would by obstructing, delaying and fighting every inch of the way. Now he wants to keep the very evidence that should clear him a secret???
Now why would a person with nothing to hide want to do that? I think I know why.
Requesting old records from a defendant is not always a simple fishing expedition. There is a very simple concept in criminal law called plan and design and if the FBI could show past practices consistent with these current allegations they have a much stronger case.
I'm sure Mr. Doolittle's attorneys are well aware of this too and thus the obstruction of records.
Everything a congressman does as an elected official ought to be wide open to any citizen or police agency to see, except for matters of national security. Otherwise what we have is a Congress above beyond the law! Is that what you want?
Posted by: A. Tannenbaum at December 22, 2007 08:43 PM
Requesting old records from a defendant is not always a simple fishing expedition.
At least it shouldn't be. Unfortunately there is a long history of misusing the law to discredit political opponents...that's why there is little trust in the process and defensive posturing from the sidelines.
Posted by: Tina at December 23, 2007 02:44 PM