The ramifications of the dismissal of the case against Senator Ted Stevens continue to reverberate.  Unfortunately, it extends beyond the Stevens case:

While the allegations of prosecutorial misconduct in the Stevens trial are limited to his case alone, the damage to the Department of Justice Public Integrity Section may make judges more willing to listen to defense attorneys who challenge evidence. Jurors may also be more willing to listen to claims of innocence by politicians under scrutiny, experts say.

Some Department of Justice watchers predict there will be staff changes in the leadership of the Public Integrity Section — moves that could slow down criminal investigations into other lawmakers.

Among the pending cases are charges against former Reps. William Jefferson (D-La.) and Rick Renzi (R-Ariz.), who have been indicted on a host of corruption charges, including bribery and fraud. Former Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) has been implicated in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal, and Reps. Don Young (R-Alaska), John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) and Peter Visclosky (D-Ind.) have found themselves drawn into other criminal probes by the Justice Department, although no charges have been filed in those cases.

Melanie Sloan, as usual, succinctly summed up the situation:

“This sordid mess reflects equally poorly on the Public Integrity Section and Sen. Stevens, but in the end it is the public that has lost the most: a corrupt politician has escaped punishment and future prosecutions of politicians have been jeopardized,” said Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. (emphasis added)

While Rep. John Murtha has been the main focus of attention in the wake of the PMA Group scandal, he's not alone.  According to The New York Times, Rep. Peter Visclosky is also facing an investigation by federal authorities.  And, 

Federal law enforcement officials who raided the lobbyist Paul Magliocchetti’s PMA Group appear to be examining the firm’s relationship with Representative Peter J. Visclosky, a low-profile lawmaker with big influence over federal spending, people familiar with the matter said this week.

One person with knowledge of the investigation into the PMA Group said prosecutors had asked specific questions about Mr. Visclosky and his staff. Two people close to Mr. Visclosky, an Indiana Democrat, said he was taking steps to prepare for legal scrutiny, including retaining lawyers to review his compliance with campaign finance laws. All spoke on condition of anonymity, for fear of alienating either the prosecutors or Mr. Visclosky.

A spokesman for the Justice Department declined to comment.

Contacted repeatedly this week over the phone and at his Congressional office, Mr. Visclosky and his staff declined to answer questions about the investigation or his possible involvement.

Mr. Visclosky — chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee for energy and water, and thus one of the “cardinals” who control federal spending — is not the only lawmaker whom prosecutors involved in the case have asked about, people with knowledge of the inquiry say, and it is not clear whether he has become a target. But the prosecutors’ interest in him is the clearest sign yet that the investigation of the PMA Group may spread to Capitol Hill.

This is not the first time we've seen reports that members of Congress may be implicated in the PMA investigation.  Last month,  The NY Times also reported on concerns on Capitol HIll about where this investigation would lead:

More alarming to lawmakers and aides, however, is that prosecutors may turn their attention to the dinners at the Alpine and Capital Grille or other gifts they might have accepted from Mr. Magliocchetti — potential violations of longstanding Congressional ethics rules that could lead to more serious bribery charges if linked to official acts.

It seems with every new arrest and new trial, the Abramoff scandal expands.  The upcoming trial of Kevin Ring brings us two top officials in the U.S. Department of Justice.  It never ends:

Two former top Justice Department officials emerged Wednesday as figures in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal as prosecutors disclosed plans to turn over some of the officials' correspondence to defense attorneys preparing for trial in the case.

The officials are former Solicitor General Paul Clement and David Ayres, one-time chief of staff to former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Clement and Ayres were among Justice Department officials in e-mail correspondence with Kevin Ring, a former team Abramoff lobbyist and Capitol Hill aide who's facing trial on 10 counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, bribery and fraud.

Ring is accused of trying to get lawmakers and government officials to help him and his clients by giving them gifts such as sports tickets and meals.

Clement and Ayres were referenced by title but not by name at a federal court hearing in Ring's case Wednesday.

Last week, CREW named Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) one of the most corrupt members of Congress.   So far, Doolittle hasn't been indicted, but his former chief of staff has been. And, Jack Abramoff is one of the reasons:

Kevin Ring said he knew nothing about efforts to get a job for the wife of California Republican Rep. John Doolittle, but then investigators found his e-mails.

Ring wrote two of them to his boss, a lobbyist named Jack Abramoff. In one, he said that Doolittle's chief of staff had asked him whether a job had yet been found for her. In the second, Ring wrote that he had met personally with Doolittle, who again asked about the job for his wife, Julie.

Ring's 10-count indictment, the latest chapter in the long-running Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, makes one thing clear: His apparent desire to protect the Doolittles is now figuring very prominently in his legal troubles.

While the Doolittles remain under federal investigation, they have not been charged with any crimes and have consistently maintained their innocence.

Two of the felony charges against Ring, an aide to Doolittle before he went to work for Abramoff, directly involve his relationship with Julie Doolittle. Prosecutors allege that he obstructed justice by trying to mislead the FBI when he said he did not recall conversations about getting a job for her. And in 2004, he allegedly used interstate wires to execute a scheme when he deposited a $5,000 check into a credit union account controlled by her.

Jack Abramoff may be in jail, but his legacy lives on.  The former top aide to Congressman John Doolittle (R-CA) was arrested -- and indicted -- today:

The Justice Department on Monday indicted Kevin Ring — former chief of staff to Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) and former lobbying partner of Jack Abramoff — on 10 corruption counts, alleging that Ring provided gifts to “several public officials” to reward them for taking actions beneficial to Ring’s clients.

The Justice Department alleges that Ring and others identified public officials who could be helpful to their clients, and then “groomed those public officials by providing things of value with the intent of making those public officials more receptive to requests on behalf of their clients in the future.”

Ring, 37, was arrested Monday.

Yesterday, one of the central figures in the corruption scandal that rocked Washington was sentenced.   Jack Abramoff, who is already in prison, got a lighter sentence in the corruption case, because of his cooperation with federal authorities.  Sounds like federal authorities aren't finished with this investigation:

Jack Abramoff, the powerhouse Washington lobbyist who admitted running a wide-ranging corruption scheme that ensnared lawmakers, Capitol Hill aides and government officials, yesterday received a reduced sentence of four years in prison because of his cooperation with federal investigators.

Abramoff, 49, already has served nearly two years for his conviction in a related Florida fraud case. The sentence yesterday by U.S. District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle means that the former Republican lobbyist will likely remain in prison until 2012.

More than a dozen people, including an Ohio congressman and a deputy secretary of the interior, have been convicted in the Abramoff lobbying scandal, and Justice Department officials said the investigation is continuing. Still under scrutiny are former House majority leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) and retiring Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.).

 

The Abramoff era of scandal is far from over.  The fallout continues as a former top official at the U.S. Department of Justice pleads guilty to a charge of breaking the conflict-of-interest law for Abramoff and one of his associates.  The Washington Post reports Mr. Coughlin will be cooperating with the authorities, which could make him a witness against Rep. John Doolittle  (named by CREW as one of the most corrupt members of Congress, in part, because of his relationship with Abramoff):

A former high-ranking official in the Justice Department pleaded guilty yesterday to accepting thousands of dollars worth of meals and sports tickets from Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff in exchange for helping a variety of Abramoff's clients.

Robert E. Coughlin II, the former deputy chief of staff of the Justice Department's criminal division, became the latest of more than a dozen public officials, lobbyists and congressional staff members to be convicted or to plead guilty in the wide-ranging federal investigation of Abramoff's activities.

As part of his plea agreement, Coughlin, 36, agreed to cooperate with investigators, making him a potentially important witness in the ongoing scrutiny of Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-Calif.). Coughlin acknowledged performing a variety of official acts for Kevin A. Ring, a key member of Abramoff's lobbying team at Greenberg Traurig and a former legislative aide to Doolittle. Coughlin and Ring are longtime friends who worked together on Capitol Hill a decade ago.

Coughlin admitted violating the federal conflict-of-interest statute while he served in the department's offices of legislative affairs and public liaison between March 2001 and October 2003. According to court papers filed yesterday, he leaked department information, attended meetings and contacted his Justice colleagues to help clients of Abramoff and Ring.

Today, CREW sent a letter to Speaker Pelosi and Minority Leader Boehner asking that the House leaders start cooperating with law enforcement authorities pursuing legitimate criminal investigations involving members of Congress.  The letter can be found here.

Leaders of the House have been improperly shielding members of Congress – including former Rep. Mark Foley (R-FL), Rep. William Jefferson (D-LA), Rep. Jerry Lewis (R-CA) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) -- from criminal investigation and prosecution through an expansive and aggressive interpretation of the Speech or Debate Clause of the Constitution.

Members of Congress, like all other citizens, can hire attorneys to ensure that their constitutional rights are protected; this is not, however, the job of the House general counsel, hired at taxpayer expense.

A key excerpt from CREW's letter to Pelosi and Boehner:

Members of Congress are not above the law, but the House's aggressive use of the Speech and Debate Clause to impede law enforcement authorities from investigating members' potentially illegal activities is unseemly.

Unseemly, indeed. 

Today's announcement that Rep. John Doolittle won't be running for re-election prompted this statement from Melanie Sloan:

Given that Rep. Doolittle's relationship with convicted felon and former lobbyist Jack Abramoff has long been the subject of a federal criminal investigation, as has his relationship with convicted felon and former businessman Brent Wilkes, his announcement today that he will not seek re-election is overdue. Rep. Doolittle's constituents deserve a representative focused on their needs, rather than one focused on his own legal problems.

It also warrants another spotlight look at his extensive record of corruption from our report, Beyond DeLay:

Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA) is an ninth-term member of Congress representing California’s 4th congressional district. Rep. Doolittle’s ethics issues stem from his wife’s relationship to his campaign and political action committees, as well as campaign contributions and personal financial benefits he accepted from those who sought his legislative assistance. Rep. Doolittle is currently the subject of a Department of Justice investigation and was included in CREW’s 2006 report on congressional corruption.

Julie Doolittle

Rep. Doolittle’s wife Julie is the owner and president of Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, a fundraising company retained by Rep. Doolittle’s campaign committee and his Superior California Leadership PAC. In her role as fundraiser, Ms. Doolittle receives 15% of every contribution raised. Ms. Doolittle has received at least $215,000 from Rep. Doolittle’s campaign committees since 2001, and took in nearly $224,000 during the 2006 campaign alone. Notably, the Association of Fundraising Professionals sent a letter to Rep. Doolittle stating that its long-standing ethics code, “explicitly prohibits percentage-based compensation” and urged the campaign to cease this practice with Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions.

Ms. Doolittle’s payments by her husband’s campaign appear to violate federal campaign finance laws and House rules, which prohibit converting campaign funds to personal use. By using his position as a member of Congress to financially benefit his wife, Rep. Doolittle may be depriving his constituents of his honest services, using his position for personal gain, and engaging in conduct that does not reflect creditably on the House.

After severe criticism, Rep. Doolittle announced that his wife would no longer serve as a paid fundraiser for his 2008 reelection campaign. Still maintaining that the percentage based fee his wife earned was fair, Rep. Doolittle has said his wife will continue to raise money for his Superior California Leadership PAC, but will be paid a flat salary rather than a commission. Rep. Doolittle still owes his wife’s company $76,471.20 for fundraising services rendered during the 2006 election cycle.

Ties to Jack Abramoff

In 1999, Rep. Doolittle also assisted Jack Abramoff in securing a lucrative lobbying contract with the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), helped Mr. Abramoff stave off legislation protecting workers in the CNMI and wrote letters on behalf of some of Mr. Abramoff’s tribal casinos. In return, Rep. Doolittle, an alleged gambling foe, received $130,000 from gambling tribes with ties to Mr. Abramoff. If Rep. Doolittle received contributions from Mr. Abramoff in return for legislative assistance, he may have violated prohibitions against bribery, honest services fraud and House rules.

In April 2007, FBI agents searched the Doolittles’ Virginia home. Investigators sought the business records of Sierra Dominion Financial Services as part of an ongoing investigation into ties between Jack Abramoff and the Doolittles. At least three former and two current Doolittle aides have been contacted by the Justice Department as part of the investigation.

Brent Wilkes

Federal investigators are probing whether contributions made to Rep. Doolittle by now indicted defense contractor Brent Wilkes and his associates are linked to any official actions Rep. Doolittle took to help Mr. Wilkes’ company obtain millions of dollars in earmarks.

After several days and weeks of drama, the announcement comes today that another one of the most corrupt members of Congress, Rep. John Doolittle, is not running again:

Embattled Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.) announced Thursday afternoon that he would not seek reelection, yielding to pressure from his Republican colleagues to step aside amid a federal investigation into his involvement in the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Speaking at the Maidu Community Center in his California district, Doolittle said he will serve out the remainder of his term but won’t run in November’s election.