On Tues, Sept 16, the Tom McClintock (R) carpetbagging campaign for CA- 04 up here in Northern California, running against Democrat Charlie Brown, sank to a new depth akin to the stock market crash of 2008.

Sacramento News Channel 10, ( ABC ) ran a story about a swiftboat ad release by the McClintock campaign, and did not tell who the people were in the video nor who was involved in the making of it. (edit: added link  http://www.news10.net/news/sto…        )        They did not note that the “uniform” was just a jacket over a tee shirt and jeans.  They edited video in such a way as to disguise an incident of potential assault by a McClintock campaign advisor.  They did not say that the event was written up as a press conference by other sources, to imply open access, when the McClintock campaign decided to call security to prevent access by observers, and was not letting them see the event.  I witnessed the event (or rather, the closed doors, mostly except when they opened ) from the hallway but was prevented from recording it and was threatened with removal from the building by someone who would not identify themselves or their job title.

Regarding the video on the News 10 site, now that I have seen it:

The dark haired man in the suit facing the camera is John Ruiz, a “campaign consultant” or “advisor” for the McClintock campaign, previously associated with John Doolittle and Richard Pombo,  who also is financially involved with Southern California Casinos being financed by the Malik family of Detroit.  http://www.theverifiabletruth….        This Malik family has given thousands of dollars to campaigns of Tom McClintock.  He (Ruiz) had just previously committed what is known legally as “assault” upon another person in the photo, which has been edited out of the News 10 video, by grabbing the person’s arm and threatening them under his breath. He then made another comment out loud trying to provoke a fight.  Only the person’s reaction, saying “do not touch me again,”  is shown in the video.

The person in the print shirt with his back to the camera is a real veteran and did not assault anybody. The person standing behind Ruiz is a real veteran and did not assault anybody.  

Politico said it was a press conference.  ABC is claiming it was a private meeting so they had the right to restrict access.

(edit, to add) My previous story on that entire day is here: CA- 04, No Show Tom, Fake Schedule, Swiftboating and the Keystone Kops     http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

So where’s Tom McClintock? He knows and won’t admit it.    

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McClintock at the Auburn Gold Country Fair in flyer form touting his “virtues.”  Nope, not photoshopped.  photos by author.

The McClintock employee lied about McClintock’s whereabouts that day deliberately.  McClintock did not go to Lincoln that morning, where he was expected at the Chamber of Commerce, and where they already had the campaign handouts stapled to the day’s agenda.  The employee who said he didn’t know where McClintock was going to be that day was there at the “press conference” guarding the door to it and refusing entrance.   McClintock posted a phony schedule, claimed a budget victory when there wasn’t one, didn’t show up at places, including this “press conference,”  and ran off to the Elks lodge in Auburn (again, restricted access) to eat lunch with a bunch of mostly older while males while his surrogates were down at the Hyatt doing his dirty work.

The woman speaking in the ad they released was Debra (or Deborah)  Johns.  She is a member of Move America Forward.  http://www.moveamericaforward….                                         She is their “director of military relations” per their website.  She is a paid professional Public Relations person, not just a private citizen. MAF puts solicitations up on the internet made by “military moms” with pleas for money to “support the troops”  by funding an advertisement.   This money is then used to make hit pieces against certain Democratic candidates. Where the money goes is all to the same po box in Sacramento.   They pull the solicitations down after they get the money, but the ads remain online on You Tube.  Think of her as a media hit person, not as a “military mom,” her online persona.  

Move America Forward, aka MAF,  is the alleged non profit wing of “Russo Marsh and Rogers” Public Relations firm, which does media PR and swiftboating for Republican Candidates. Move America Forward a front group which claims non profit status based on issues advocacy.  I don’t see how they can claim to be non partisan, they’ve never, ever supported anything but right wing extremist Republicans and they do sleaze swiftboating.  They ask for money online to pay for campaign ads.  This is not non partisan.   The notorious right wing radio talk show host Melanie Morgan, who is shown wearing a camoflage pattern tee shirt under her suit jacket on her own website, is “chairman” of this MAF group.  Melanie Morgan   http://www.moveamericaforward….    

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M…          has an online store  http://www.melaniemorgan.com/               that sells tee shirts and mugs with religious and racially offensive slogans that extremist right wingers might find appealing or might intrepret as being an affirmation that advocating violence against an AA candidate is okay.  

It is not “okay.”  It is provocative and IMO, evil.

The “Rogers” in RMR  is  Ron Rogers, a former staff member of Rep. John Doolittle’s who was subpoenaed last September 2007 in the DOJ/FBI investigation of John Doolittle.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

Rogers bio on the RMR webpage is missing that aspect.  He’s a PR guy who has dissapeared the fact that he used to be Doolittle’s Chief of Staff.  

http://www.rmrwest.com/index.p…

As an ex COS of Doolittle, he has certainly been heavily involved in the ongoing coverup of Doolittle’s corruption investigation and alleged crimes,  for Doolittle has been fighting the subpoenas of his staff for a very long time.

Now, what happened recently?   KEVIN RING WAS ARRESTED AND INDICTED in the Abramoff scandal investigation.  Ring is another ex staffer, the former legislative director of John Doolittle,  who went on to become a lobbyist and work with Jack Abramoff and who had many, many interactions with John Doolittle, esp. concerning having Julie Doolittle go to work for an Abramoff sub- company being funded by laundered money from Indian Tribes and foreign governments.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/…

Ring, married with a young family, is being heavily pressured to flip and tell on his ex boss.  Surely he doesn’t want to go to jail.

Now, in ALL THIS FLAPDOODLE about the “effigy”  what else happened this week?  The AP reports that the Federal Prosecutors  are about to turn over “millions of pages” of documents” of evidence for KEVIN RING’s DEFENSE ATTORNEY TO USE.    This includes correspondence with former DOJ officials Clements and Ayres,  who used to work for former US ATTY GENERAL JOHN ASHCROFT.  Hey, guess what?  RING used to work for Ashcroft, too.   So did another convicted DOJ  employee, Robert Coughlin.

http://ap.google.com/article/A…

The charges against Ring include an episode in which he allegedly  

lobbied Justice Department officials for money to build a jail on a  

reservation for a tribal client. One of the officials involved –  

Robert Coughlin, former deputy chief of staff of the Justice  

Department’s criminal division – already has pleaded guilty to  

criminal conflict of interest in the case.  

So it’s time for a big DIVERSION.   No kidding.  People are sitting in jail cells because of this Doolittle coverup, and the roof is about to blow off.  

Channel 10 is an ABC affiliate which is owned by Disney.  Disney owns the radio station in SF where Melanie Morgan of MAF had her right wing talk show.  Disney/ABC ran the horrible “Path to 9/11 ” documentary full of lies, blaming the Clinton administration for the disaster.  

ABC is now allied with Fox News as part of the coverup party of the corruption of the Dept. of Justice under the Bush administration.

One of Doolittle’s and McClintock’s biggest local financial supporters is posting pictures from ABC Channel 10 on the Auburn Journal blog, making bogus claims about what happened Sept 16, 2008 at the Hyatt in Sacramento.  Great diversion.  Not.

_____

edited 8:20 pm 9/19  to add links, and photos by author  

Even though John Doolittle is not on the ballot this year, his presence in a district that he dominated for years is still important for Republican branding.  Much like in Ohio, where the Tom Noe Coingate scandal spelled doom for all Republican statewide officers in 2006, the stench of scandal around Doolittle has the potential to severely tarnish the Republican brand in CA-04.  And if yesterday’s indictment of former Doolittle aide Kevin Ring is as advertised, which it appears to be, the brand isn’t just tarnished, it’s out in the dumpster:

The indictment adds additional information to Doolittle’s already thick record with Abramoff. According to the indictment, Ring expensed at least one suite for a sports event, eight concert tickets (including tickets for Dixie Chicks and Faith Hill), and five meals totaling more than $2000 for Doolittle. For Doolittle’s staff and his legislative director in particular, Ring bought 29 sports tickets, four concert tickets, nine meals, and one gift from Macy’s.

But Ring and Abramoff were well accommodated in return. As the indictment describes, Doolittle proved himself “a good soldier” by chairing a hearing on the Puerto Rico statehood issue for an Abramoff client and held up his opposition to an anti-gambling bill among other favors.

And Doolittle’s staff was just as helpful. Doolittle’s communications director helped Ring out with tax legislation to “earn [his] Sigs Sushi ;),” and his legislative director was so “tenacious on the appropriations front” that he earned an esteemed compliment from Ring in an email: “You the man.”

Doolittle is referred to (as “Representative 5”) in the indictment over 100 times.  If he’s actually indicted before the election, that will be a boost for Charlie Brown, as the culture of corruption which helped him to a near-upset in 2006 would come back into play.  And with carpetbagger Tom McClintock trying to lie his way to victory (subs. req.), his claim to the ethical high road isn’t all that firm, either.

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).

John Doolittle’s corruption sure is getting lots of play in the press. First, in district with the three part cover story in the Sacramento News and Review (1, 2, 3 — complete with Doolittlepoly PDF) and Doolittle’s meltdown in the Auburn Journal.

And now DC is paying attention. Tomorrow’s edition of The Hill has a story on Doolittle’s Alberto Gonzalez conspiracy. And tonight, Congressional Quarterly took a look at the race with a piece entitled, Skies Haven’t Brightened for California Rep. Doolittle Since ’06 Close Call.

Which is bad news for Doolittle, because in 2006 the inside-the-beltway crowd didn’t realize this was a race. Sure, Karl Rove could smell the fear and sent Bush out and the NRCC spent a pretty penny, yet the pundits and DCCC didn’t catch on until too late. But both the pundits and the DCCC are all over CA-04 now.

Speaking of the DCCC, check out their great new video and view their timeline of the scandal:

April 16, 2007 — The Washington Post reports that Kevin Ring is resigning from his law firm, Barnes & Thornburg. [Washington Post, 4/15/07]

April 13, 2007 — The FBI searches Doolittle’s home in northern Virginia that he shares with his wife, Julie. [The Hill, 4/18/07]

March 12, 2007 — Doolittle pays $3,500 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 4/15/07]

February 28, 2007 — Doolittle pays $3,500 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 4/15/07]

February 13, 2007 — Doolittle pays $3,016.05 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 4/15/07]

January 30, 2007 — Doolittle pays $3,500 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 4/15/07]

January 23, 2007 — Doolittle announces that he wants his wife to continue raising money for his political action committee. [Associated Press, 1/24/07]

January 12, 2007 — Doolittle writes in an op-ed that he will no longer employ his wife as his campaign fundraiser, and instead would hire an outside fundraiser. [Associated Press, 1/12/07]

December 11, 2006 — Doolittle pays $20,000 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 4/09/07]

November 15, 2006 — Doolittle pays $40,000 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/08/07]

October 27, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,009.61 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/08/07]

October 2, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,007.14 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/08/07]

September 30, 2006 — Doolittle pays $19,306.38 in legal fees to Williams Mullen from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

August 31, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,001.77 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. He also pays $10,916.10 in legal fees to Williams Mullen. [FEC, 2/05/07]

August 10, 2006 — Doolittle pays $11,002.15 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. He also pays $8,156 in legal fees to Williams Mullen. [FEC, 2/05/07]

July 20, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,002.92 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

May 28, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,008.55 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

May 5, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,274.60 in legal fees to Williams Mullen from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

April 27, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,001.35 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

April 3, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,001.35 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

March 28, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,006.35 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

March 2, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,002.85 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

February 21, 2006 — Doolittle pays $1,002.75 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

January 27, 2006 — Doolittle pays $10,000 in legal fees to Williams Mullen from his campaign account. [FEC, 2/05/07]

January 3, 2006 — Abramoff pleads guilty to conspiracy, fraud and tax evasion. [Associated Press, 1/05/06]

December 6, 2005 — Doolittle pays $1,001.55 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 1/25/07]

November 10, 2005 — Doolittle pays $2,004.90 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 1/25/07]

November 2005 — Doolittle acknowledges that his wife has been subpoenaed in the grand jury investigating Abramoff’s activities. [New York Times, 11/20/05; Sacramento Bee, 11/30/05]

September 6, 2005 — Doolittle pays $1,003.05 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 1/08/07]

August 10, 2005 — Doolittle pays $1,003.05 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 1/08/07]

June 20, 2005 — Doolittle pays $1,017.35 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 1/08/07]

June 8, 2005 — Doolittle pays $1,000 in legal fees to Wiley Rein & Fielding LLP from his campaign account. [FEC, 1/08/07]

October 2003 — Doolittle writes a letter to the Interior Secretary appealing for quicker action for a Massachusetts tribe, the Mashpee Wampanoag, seeking federal recognition. The tribe is an Abramoff client. [Associated Press, 1/29/06]

June 2003 — Doolittle writes a letter to the Interior Secretary criticizing the Bureau of Indian Affairs for “undermining” a recall effort on the Meskwaki settlement. [Sacramento Bee, 2/12/06]

Early June, 2003 — Kevin Ring brings members of the Iowa Meskwaki tribe to meet with Doolittle in his office. [Sacramento Bee, 2/12/06]

November 2002 — Fred Black is demoted and told not to conduct any further investigations. [National Public Radio, 3/14/07]

November 2002 — Fred Black, U.S. attorney for Guam and the Northern Mariana islands, subpoenas Jack Abramoff. [National Public Radio, 3/14/07]

August 2002 — Doolittle’s wife Julie Doolittle begins doing fundraising work for Abramoff. [New York Times, 11/20/05; Sacramento Bee, 11/30/05]

February 27, 2002 — Doolittle signs a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton regarding implementation of the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act of 1988. One of Abramoff’s clients, the Coushatta Tribe, opposed a plan by the Jena Band of Choctaw Indians to open a casino at a non-reservation site, expected at the time to be outside Shreveport, La., not far from a casino owned by the Coushattas. The letter signed by Doolittle tells Norton she should reject the Jena casino. [Vitter Letter to Secretary Norton, 2/27/02; Washington Post, 3/13/05; 9/28/04; AP, 11/17/05]

December 31, 2001 — Abramoff’s contract with the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands is terminated. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06; FEC Reports]

December 28, 2001 — Abramoff gives his last $1,000 contribution to Doolittle for Congress. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06; FEC Reports; Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 4/18/07]

July 2001 — Doolittle’s Chief of Staff, David Lopez, takes a week long “fact-finding” trip to Puerto Rico. The trip costs $1,352 and is paid for by Abramoff’s firm, Greenberg Traurig. House rules prohibit lawmakers and staff from taking trips paid for by registered lobbyists or lobbying firms. [Scripps Howard News Service, 2/9/06]

May 25, 2001 — A letter written by Doolittle is published in the Saipan Tribune. In it, Doolittle reflects on Tom DeLay’s $150,000 earmark for Northern Marianas ports in 2000 and says he will pick up the torch and work towards seeking funding for the studies. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06; Saipan Tribune, 5/22/01, 5/25/05]

May 23, 2001 –Abramoff contributes his third $1,000 to Doolittle’s campaign, the same amount that Doolittle had contributed to Fitial six days before. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06; FEC Report; Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 4/18/07]

May 22, 2001 — Fitial hails federal ‘help’ coming for Marianas Islands port projects detailed in a letter he received from Doolittle. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06; Saipan Tribune, 5/22/01, 5/25/05]

May 17, 2001 — Doolittle for Congress contributes $1,000 to Fitial’s campaign. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06; FEC Report]

March 22, 2001 — Doolittle’s “Dear Colleague” letter concludes from an Occupational Health and Safety Administration report that there has been significant improvements in the garment industry in the Northern Marinas. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06]

March 12, 2001 — Kevin Ring, Abramoff’s client manager for the firm’s lobbying account with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands and Doolittle’s former aide and legislative director, works with Doolittle’s office “regarding letter on OSHA report.” [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06]

July 17, 2000 — Despite being a vocal opponent of gambling, Doolittle votes to kill a ban on Internet Gaming. The legislation is opposed by both the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians and eLottery, both Abramoff Clients. [Washington Post, 3/16/05; HR 3125, #404, 7/17/00]

May 29, 2000 — Doolittle receives a $1,000 contribution from Abramoff. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 4/18/07]

On or About October 24, 1999 — Doolittle writes a letter to Benigne Fitial, a key Abramoff supporter and former legislator, endorsing his election to the Northern Marianas Islands legislature. [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06]

Oct. 3, 1999 — Doolittle receives a $1,000 contribution from Abramoff. [Center for Responsive Politics, accessed 4/18/07]

1999 — Doolittle takes a trip to the Northern Marinas Islands, a major Abramoff client, where the garment industry has been widely criticized as a collection of sweatshops. Doolittle says that he saw none of the abuses or “reported inhumane working conditions.” [Sacramento Bee, 8/5/06]

February 25, 1999 — Doolittle uses a luxury box belonging to Abramoff at Washington’s MCI Center for a fundraiser. He neither paid to rent the box nor reported its value as an in-kind contribution. [Washington Post, 12/26/04]

September 16, 1998 — Doolittle gives a floor speech praising a client of Abramoff, the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians. [Sacramento Bee, 2/19/06; Congressional Record, 2/16/98]

It is great to see the DCCC so aggressive, so early, in CA-04

John Doolittle is generally considered to be one of the most corrupt politicians in the country and as the feds close in on him, what is his response?

Doolittle said, “My wife has been cooperating with the FBI and the Justice Department for almost three years and that cooperation is going to continue in the future.  I support my wife 100 percent and fully expect that the truth will prevail.”

WTF? His wife is only under investigation because she is his wife — that is why this is a corruption probe. I can’t believe his posture, not only is Doolittle awful politically but he is a total asshole and is totally misleading the press.

Doolittle should resign — in shame — immediately.

This is a very short post, but this is a must read. Over the years, I’ve come to have profound respect for Marshall’s instincts and I see no reason to doubt him now that he is the authority on USAs. Taken with Charlie Brown’s $200,000 cash advantage, this should solidify CA-04 as a toss-up district, if not a leaning Democrat seat. You can do your part by helping out Charlie Brown here.

The media investigation of the Republican leadership cover-up is now focusing Republican Secretary John Doolittle (R-CA) who is refusing to answer questions about his role in the Mark Foley scandal.

“This story is going to trace itself up to just exactly who exactly in the leadership of the Republican Party knew what when,” former White House advisor David Gergen told CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

The tracking through the GOP leadership advanced with the Associated Press quote from Kirk Fordham that draws the senior staff of the Republican leadership into the scandal — while extending the length of the GOP leadership cover-up by more than a year.

What did Doolittle’s former chief of staff, Kevin A. Ring know and when did he know it? What did Richard Robinson known and when did he know it? What did GOP Secretary John Doolittle know and when did he know it?

Even embattled Speaker Dennis Hastert told the Chicago Tribune, “I think the base has to realize after a while, who knew about it? Who knew what, when?”

This week, Doolittle’s re-election campaign in California’s fourth district has been featured in articles by Peter Hecht, Rachel Gordon, Laura Kurtzman, Molly Hennessy-Fiske and Rone Tempest with none of the reporters getting on record what John Doolittle knew and when he learned it.

The A.P.’s Robin Hindry reported on the Doolittle stonewall that is now in at least it’s third day:

[Charlie] Brown on Monday also called for Doolittle to return a donation he received from Mark Foley, the Republican Florida congressman who resigned last week after sexually explicit e-mails he sent to congressional pages were made public.

Doolittle should say what he knew about Foley’s actions and return $1,000 he received from him in 2002, Brown said.

Doolittle issued a statement through his House office on Monday condemning Foley. Calls requesting comment from his campaign Monday evening were not returned.

Congressman Doolittle’s government website – www.gopsecretary.house.gov – features a welcome message from the GOP Secretary listing his primary objective as, “to provide members and their staffs with the support they need to become more informed, innovative, and proactive.” Voters deserve to know to what degree Doolittle was informed, whether he was innovative in the cover-up, and why he wasn’t proactive in protecting children.

While the media has failed to get Congressman Doolittle on record, constituent’s are demanding answers. This morning’s Sacramento Bee features a letter from John Garon of Placerville who notes, “Rep. John Doolittle makes much of the fact that he is a member of the “leadership” of the House GOP. Since members of this inner circle, and a few more, knew of Rep. Mark Foley’s sexual advances to young boys, what did Doolittle do if and when he found out? Prima facie evidence indicates he did nothing, going along to get along, as he always does.”

With Doolittle stonewalling the press and refusing to deny involvement, the speculation is growing that Doolittle will play dumb. In another SacBee letter today, Mary Ann Keerer wonders, “Does Doolittle want us to believe that he knew nothing about his cohort’s sexual exploitation of underage boys just like he knows nothing about the sex slaves and other obscenities occurring in the Northern Mariana Islands?”

The Predatorgate scandal is sure to draw attention to Doolittle’s long history of protecting sexual predators in the Northern Marianas Islands for Jack Abramoff.

In addition to stonewalling the press, Doolittle’s damage control team is also ignoring constituent questions:

I called John Doolittle’s office today to ask if he still supports Dennis Hastert for Speaker, since the guy has known about and covered up the truly creepy activities of Congressman Foley.

The person who answered started telling me about how Hastert didn’t know about what was going on with Foley.  I said, “So that means Congressman Doolittle does support Hastert?”

She said no, no, no.  I’ll find out and get back to you.

Why is this important?  I’ve called Doolittle’s office many times over the years to ask about his positions on things like social security, net neutrality, etc.  The people there are always arrogant and dismissive, they give Doolittle’s position with no regard or care whether anyone disagrees with Doolittle.

This time, the person seemed very worried.

Unlike Representatives Heather Wilson and Geoff Davis, Rep. Doolittle is refusing to donate to charity the donations he received from former Congressman Mark Foley.

(Bumped for visibility – promoted by SFBrianCL)

Today’s Sacramento Bee front pages Representative John Doolittle’s (CA-4) connection with Jack Abramoff. David Whitney of the Bee’s Washington bureau details the close relationship between Abramoff contributions and Doolittle’s intervention in the internal politics of the Northern Mariana Islands.

John Doolittle helped Jack Abramoff secure a lucrative lobbying contract with the commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in 1999 and then assisted the now-disgraced lobbyist’s efforts to route federal money to the islands and defend its garment industry, newly obtained documents show.

More “real” news about Doolittle and Abramoff follows:

Abramoff’s primary mission as a lobbyist was the protection of the Mariana’s garment industry from government regulation and reasonable worker protection.

The commonwealth is a U.S. territory east of the Philippines whose garment industry has been widely criticized as a collection of sweatshops employing Chinese, Filipino and other immigrant workers at subminimum wages. Clothing from these plants is sold tariff-free in the United States under a “Made in the USA” label.

Workers there have complained of living in prison-like conditions. Women have said they were shunted into the bustling sex industry. Chinese women told U.S. investigators that they were forced to have abortions after becoming pregnant. 

At the time Doolittle was a member of the House Resources Committee, which has jurisdiction over the commonwealth.  Abramoff lobbied to stop reforms from passing in the U.S. Congress that would impose U.S. immigration and wage laws. Efforts to enact those laws have been bipartisan and continue today.

Doolittle has been a leading opponent of the reforms, saying the reported abuses could be halted with aggressive enforcement of U.S. laws already on the books. He stood in lock step on the issue with his mentor, Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas, then the Republican whip and later the House majority leader, who called the Mariana Islands a “Petri dish for capitalism.”

Doolittle’s relationship with Abramoff extends far beyond the work he did for his “friend” in the Marianas, but this is the only case where Abramoff’s financial support to Doolittle was direct, not through others.

Whitney lays out the timeline of Abramoff contributions and ties them directly to Doolittle actions. It is classic pay to play politics, facilitated by Doolittle’s former chief of staff, Kevin Ring, who had direct responsibility for the Marianas account when he join Abramoff’s lobbying firm.

After he moved his operation to the Greenberg Traurig law firm and had the commonwealth contract extended for 2001, Abramoff appointed former Doolittle aide Kevin Ring to manage the account.

Over the next 10 months, according to billing records, Ring met or contacted Doolittle or his staffers 19 times to talk about Mariana Islands issues, including appropriations for the islands.

From the beginning when Abramoff needed leverage in internal Marianas politics, he turned to Doolittle. After loosing his Mariana’s lobbying contract in 1998, Abramoff used Doolittle to help get a candidate friendly to his interests, Benigne Fitial, elected to the commonwealth’s legislature.

After losing the commonwealth contract in 1998, Abramoff campaigned in 1999 to get it renewed. Key to his strategy was Benigne Fitial, a supporter and former legislator who for the last decade had been vice president of Tan Holdings Group, operator of garment plants and publisher of the Saipan Tribune, according to published reports.

On Oct. 3, 1999, Doolittle received a $1,000 contribution from Abramoff, the first from the star lobbyist. Three weeks later, Doolittle wrote a letter to Fitial praising his entry into the race and endorsing his election to the commonwealth’s Legislature.

One of Benigne’s first acts after his election was to push “through the commonwealth’s house legislation directing the government to hire Abramoff’s firm, Preston Gates.”

Doolittle was in Abramoff’s pocket and from 1999 on could be counted upon to provide support to Abramoff’s interests in the Marianas.

This is the issue that is going to begin to dismantle Doolittle’s house of corruption.

For more background check with Dump Doolittle and this story over at TPM Muckraker.