04.20.07 @ 01:02:32 PM PDTRep. Doolittle defiant in face of DOJ scrutiny
By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON- A day after stepping down from a key House committee because his home was searched by the FBI, Rep. John Doolittle on Friday proclaimed that he's innocent, will fight any charges and will stay in Congress and seek re-election.
The California Republican, a nine-term incumbent under scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff congressional corruption scandal, also said that he will seek permission from the House Ethics Committee to establish a legal fund to raise money for his defense. After discussions with GOP House leadership, Doolittle on Thursday agreed to temporarily resign his coveted spot on the House Appropriations Committee.
"I have no intention of resigning from Congress and I have every intention of running for re-election again," Doolittle told reporters during a conference call from his Northern California district.
"If there is anything that we should have learned from the Duke Lacrosse case, it is that the destruction of the reputations of innocent people can occur when the government, the press and the public jump to unfounded conclusions," he added, referring to discredited rape allegations against university athletes.
Doolittle said he did not believe the FBI raid on his Oakton, Va., house April 13 was necessary. Agents had a search warrant for materials related to a fundraising and event-planning business run from the home by his wife, Julie, called Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc.
Sierra Dominion has done work for lobbyist Abramoff's former firm, Greenberg Traurig, for Doolittle's campaigns and for a nonprofit group called the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council started by a former aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Doolittle's aides said there are other clients but declined to name them, citing the clients' privacy.
Doolittle said his wife was home alone at the time of the search and agents hauled off her three computers and two big filing cabinets full of files.
"So it's vitiated her ability to do any work," he said, adding that Julie Doolittle has cooperated with several requests for information from the government, including a subpoena in 2004.
"She's provided everything in a timely basis, anything they ever asked for, so out of the clear blue to have this happen was quite shocking," Doolittle said.
Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra declined comment.
"While I did not think that the search of our home was necessary, I do believe it will demonstrate that she has been completely forthcoming and has had real clients with real work," added Doolittle, who came close to losing his House seat last year in a campaign that focused on his ties to Abramoff and his wife's fundraising for his campaigns.
Doolittle said his legal bills have mounted past $100,000 while his wife, who has a separate lawyer, is facing rising legal costs as well. For that reason he plans to establish a legal defense fund which under House rules lets him accept donations of $5,000 per year from individuals rather than the $2,300-per-campaign limit that applies to congressional committees.
"Our consciences are clear here, and we're very comfortable that the truth will vindicate us, but we've got to wage a legal battle to have that happen and so we're going to be asking our supporters to help us do that," Doolittle said.
Doolittle has numerous ties to Abramoff, who is cooperating with the government after pleading guilty last year to conspiracy, mail fraud and other charges, admitting to bilking his Indian tribe clients out of tens of millions of dollars with promises to influence the decisions of Congress and the Interior Department.
Among other connections, Doolittle accepted at least $14,000 in campaign money from Abramoff and tens of thousands more from his tribal clients. On several occasions Doolittle signed letters to the Interior Department on behalf of Abramoff's tribal clients.
By ERICA WERNER
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON- A day after stepping down from a key House committee because his home was searched by the FBI, Rep. John Doolittle on Friday proclaimed that he's innocent, will fight any charges and will stay in Congress and seek re-election.
The California Republican, a nine-term incumbent under scrutiny in the Jack Abramoff congressional corruption scandal, also said that he will seek permission from the House Ethics Committee to establish a legal fund to raise money for his defense. After discussions with GOP House leadership, Doolittle on Thursday agreed to temporarily resign his coveted spot on the House Appropriations Committee.
"I have no intention of resigning from Congress and I have every intention of running for re-election again," Doolittle told reporters during a conference call from his Northern California district.
"If there is anything that we should have learned from the Duke Lacrosse case, it is that the destruction of the reputations of innocent people can occur when the government, the press and the public jump to unfounded conclusions," he added, referring to discredited rape allegations against university athletes.
Doolittle said he did not believe the FBI raid on his Oakton, Va., house April 13 was necessary. Agents had a search warrant for materials related to a fundraising and event-planning business run from the home by his wife, Julie, called Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc.
Sierra Dominion has done work for lobbyist Abramoff's former firm, Greenberg Traurig, for Doolittle's campaigns and for a nonprofit group called the Korea-U.S. Exchange Council started by a former aide to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay. Doolittle's aides said there are other clients but declined to name them, citing the clients' privacy.
Doolittle said his wife was home alone at the time of the search and agents hauled off her three computers and two big filing cabinets full of files.
"So it's vitiated her ability to do any work," he said, adding that Julie Doolittle has cooperated with several requests for information from the government, including a subpoena in 2004.
"She's provided everything in a timely basis, anything they ever asked for, so out of the clear blue to have this happen was quite shocking," Doolittle said.
Justice Department spokesman Bryan Sierra declined comment.
"While I did not think that the search of our home was necessary, I do believe it will demonstrate that she has been completely forthcoming and has had real clients with real work," added Doolittle, who came close to losing his House seat last year in a campaign that focused on his ties to Abramoff and his wife's fundraising for his campaigns.
Doolittle said his legal bills have mounted past $100,000 while his wife, who has a separate lawyer, is facing rising legal costs as well. For that reason he plans to establish a legal defense fund which under House rules lets him accept donations of $5,000 per year from individuals rather than the $2,300-per-campaign limit that applies to congressional committees.
"Our consciences are clear here, and we're very comfortable that the truth will vindicate us, but we've got to wage a legal battle to have that happen and so we're going to be asking our supporters to help us do that," Doolittle said.
Doolittle has numerous ties to Abramoff, who is cooperating with the government after pleading guilty last year to conspiracy, mail fraud and other charges, admitting to bilking his Indian tribe clients out of tens of millions of dollars with promises to influence the decisions of Congress and the Interior Department.
Among other connections, Doolittle accepted at least $14,000 in campaign money from Abramoff and tens of thousands more from his tribal clients. On several occasions Doolittle signed letters to the Interior Department on behalf of Abramoff's tribal clients.
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