Doolittles: A Cut Above

The Washington Post officially set its sights on Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) today.

Much of the article recaps the work of other reporters, but they did confirm one new — and telling — detail.

We knew that Doolittle’s wife Julie got a 15 percent cut on every contribution she allegedly raised for her husband’s committee. What we didn’t know — but the Post found out — is that, according to the PAC, Julie is responsible for raising every dollar they’ve taken in over the past couple years. The paper analyzed the PAC’s financial records, and found that Julie’s commission payments totaled just about exactly 15 percent of the total take.

The Doolittles have pocketed $69,896 in this election cycle, “exactly 15 percent of the $465,973 raised.” This despite the fact that the committee has had two other fundraisers on the payroll. Doolittle’s people, as always, argue that she’s earned every penny. It’s not clear what those other fundraisers, one of them a Doolittle staffer, were doing for the money when she was working so hard.

The Post also details how the Doolittles, who are quite adept at taking full advantage of the congressman’s office, use the committee as a goodie slush fund. That’s slippery, but it’s not why Doolittle has hired a criminal defense lawyer.

For those who need a refresher….