Doolittle Ex-Aide Still Paid Via Campaign

Yesterday we learned Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) hired a big-shot criminal defense attorney, perhaps out of fear he could get nicked by the spreading Abramoff scandal. His finances keep revealing more secrets: it turns out, he’s got two fundraising consultants. And they’re both close to his heart.

The first, of course, is his wife Julie. Her Sierra Dominion Financial Services pulled in $82,127 from her husband’s campaign.

He had such success with her, he put his chief of staff’s wife on the payroll. And when his chief of staff left Washington last year, he put him on the payroll, too.

Since January 2005, Doolittle’s campaign has paid David and Kathy Lopez almost as much as he pays his own wife: over $80,000 in fees and reimbursements, all for “fundraising consulting.”

Here’s the backstory on Lopez: he began working for Doolittle in 1985, when Doolittle was a California state senator. When Doolittle won his Congressional seat in 1991, Lopez came with him as his chief of staff. Lopez announced his resignation in February 2005; but even after Lopez left the Hill, Doolittle didn’t stop writing him checks.

Since May 2005, Doolittle’s campaign has paid David Lopez about $4600 a month for “fundraising consulting.” His wife Kathy had worked with the campaign before he stepped down; in total, the campaign has paid her nearly $9,000 in fees and $17,445 in reimbursements since January 2005.

We can’t figure out exactly what he does, however, and I understand others have similar trouble. Lopez won’t call us back, and neither will the Doolittle campaign.

Lopez brings a bit of a cloud with him, of course. Earlier this year, AP revealed he had taken a “fact-finding” trip to Puerto Rico in 2001, courtesy of Jack Abramoff’s firm. One of his former colleagues on Doolittle’s staff, Kevin Ring, went to work for the now-disgraced lobbyist in 1998. He remained in frequent contact with Doolittle’s office, according to the lawmaker.

The Department of Justice also had an interest in Lopez at one point: it examined his financial disclosure filings with the House of Representatives for the years 1999 through 2004, according to Roll Call.