John Doolittle Faces Federal Probe

Rep. John T. Doolittle is facing scrutiny from federal prosecutors over his relationship with lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the Washington Post reports.

Doolittle's race against Democrat Charlie Brown in conservative Placer County has become one of the most closely watched congressional races in the nation. Last week, newly released documents showed Doolittle had solicited a job for his wife, political consultant Julie Doolittle. Abramoff paid her company $66,000 between September 2002 and February 2004, according to the Associated Press.

News of the U.S. Department of Justice probe came in a single line in a Post story this weekend about the guilty plea of Rep. Robert Ney of Ohio, the eighth person convicted in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal. The Post cited anonymous "lawyers and witnesses involved in the probe." Then Sunday, a Federal Elections Commission report showed payments by Doolittle to a defense law firm. Blogswarm notes that some influential Washington D.C. pundits have downgraded Doolittle's chances in November, despite his staunchly conservative district.

UPDATE: Here's a link to the report (PDF file). The info on Julie Doolittle's company appears on page 152.

(Photo: Renee C. Byer / AP)