Doolittle: “I’m Glad”Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), ever the optimist, thinks it’s just peachy that federal investigators have contacted as many as six of his former aides:
Doolittle said Thursday, during a weekly telephone conference with reporters, that he has no problem with his former aides talking to prosecutors because he thinks it might hasten his dismissal as a focus of the Abramoff probe.
“Why didn’t they do this a year and a half ago when I wrote the attorney general, or even before that?” Doolittle said of the prosecutors.
“I finally wrote him (Attorney General Alberto Gonzales) and said please investigate,” Doolittle said. “To have this dragged out for over three years is ridiculous. They’ve had three years to get to the bottom of this. At least they’ve started.”
“I’ve always believed that the truth vindicates us,” he said. “I am glad they are going to delve more into it.”
It’s a familiar stance from Doolittle, who’s been goading prosecutors for the past couple years. In January of 2006, he announced that he’d written that letter to the attorney general, asking the Department of Justice to “come investigate me.” In October of last year, his spokeswoman announced that his lawyers had been having conversations with prosecutors “which we believe have been helpful toward clearing the congressman’s name.” Those contacts, the spokeswoman said, had been initiated at Doolittle’s request.
The thing is, prosecutors don’t seem to need much encouragement (here are the reasons why). Doolittle has been in investigators’ sights dating back to the very beginning of the Jack Abramoff investigation — back in 2004, investigators subpoenaed records for Doolittle’s wife’s consulting firm due to her work for Abramoff. Finally, in April of this year, prosecutors offered Doolittle an opportunity to plead guilty. After he refused, FBI agents raided his Virginia home (for some reason, Doolittle wasn’t happy about that).
So it’s apparent the Justice Department has taken Doolittle up on his offer to “come investigate me,” and they’ve obviously much more than just “started.” But I’m sure they appreciate the support.
