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A Justice Department corruption investigation that helped drive John Doolittle from office has now been closed without charges being filed, the former Sacramento, Calif.-area congressman said Friday. "I'm thrilled," Doolittle said in an interview. "They've dragged this thing out for six and a half years." Doolittle's relief, though, is tinged with bitterness at how he believes the Justice Department has mistreated him. He says he accumulated $600,000 in attorneys fees, some of which he was able to pay with campaign funds. The lingering investigation hindered his ability to find work. In the beginning, he said, it proved "very devastating" to...

Former Gov. Pete Wilson has lashed out at GOP state Sen. Tom McClintock, saying McClintock couldn't be counted on in the Legislature and should not go to Congress. Wilson, a fellow Republican, made the remarks during a campaign event for the 4th Congressional District GOP primary organized by McClintock rival Doug Ose. The two are battling to replace incumbent GOP Rep. John Doolittle, who is retiring. McClintock was in the state Assembly while Wilson was governor. Wilson said McClintock was the first to criticize but the last to help his own team. McClintock's campaign did not immediately respond to a...

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) "defiantly declared Friday that he will not retire from Congress despite increasing Republican concern that if he runs for a 10th term next year, the seat could fall to Democratic challenger Charlie Brown," the Sacramento Bee reports. Said Doolittle: "I will not step aside. I am running again. Period."

During the last few days, both Sen. Pete Domenici (R-N.M.) and Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), two conservative Republicans, have broken with President Bush's policy on Iraq, both in very public ways. Here's a link on Domenici's statement on Iraq (via ThinkProgress), although it's still unclear on how far he will go in opposing Bush, and here's an article on Doolittle's recent comments in Iraq. Beyond being Republicans and facing tough re-election campaigns next year, Domenici and Doolittle have another thing in common - they are both under fire for ethics legal problems. Domenici is being investigated by the Senate Ethics...

Rep. John Doolittle, a consevative California congressman, today joined others in his party rapidly deserting the president on the Iraq war. At a town hall meeting in Rocklin and then in a meeting with the editorial board of the Sacramento Bee he questioned whether the conflict was worth the loss of more American lives. He said U.S. troops should be pulled back from the front lines "as soon as possible" and the fighting turned over to Iraqi forces. A longtime supporter of the war, Doolittle called the situation in Iraq a "quagmire" on Thursday. "We've got to get off the...

FBI Raids Doolittle's Home: The FBI has raided the Northern Virginia home of Rep. John Doolittle (R-Calif.), according to Congressional sources. No details are publicly available yet about the circumstances of the raid, but Doolittle and his wife, Julie, have been under federal investigation for their ties to the scandal surrounding imprisoned former lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Laura Bush joins Doolittle at Rocklin rally -- a sign he's in a tough race. First lady Laura Bush came before hundreds of flag-waving partisans in one of California's hottest congressional races Thursday and made an appeal for civility in the battle over control of Congress and debate over the war in Iraq."We must have serious national discussions conducted with civility and respect," Bush said as she appeared at William Jessup University in Rocklin to boost the candidacy of Rep. John Doolittle. "The right to have these conversations is part of what makes our country great and our democracy strong."Unlike...

The John Doolittle-Charlie Brown race took more spirited turns Wednesday as a leading House Republican assailed a Brown e-mail calling the Iraq campaign a "war of occupation/aggression" and the Brown campaign released a television ad pointing out Doolittle's lack of service in Vietnam. On the steps of the state Capitol, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine, chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and a 2008 GOP presidential candidate, took Brown to task for an e-mail he wrote in April 2004 while a civilian employee of the Roseville Police Department. After other employees had exchanged e-mails exulting over the anticipated return of...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. - A Democratic Vietnam veteran running for Congress lashed out at his Republican opponent Friday after a series of Republican-financed attacks questioning his support for U.S. troops. In a rare display of anger, retired Air Force Maj. Charlie Brown called Republican Rep. John Doolittle (news, bio, voting record) a coward who is "hiding behind the flag" and slammed him for failing to serve in Vietnam. "While I was being shot at in Vietnam, John Doolittle was practicing his tennis game at (the University of California) Santa Cruz," Brown said during a news conference as he was surrounded by...

Doolittle paints foe as too liberal because he's a member of group lawmaker claims defends pedophiles. When Rep. John Doolittle attacks Democratic rival Charlie Brown for his membership in the American Civil Liberties Union, the Roseville Republican describes it as an organization that defends pedophiles.The Massachusetts case giving rise to the congressman's indignation -- and that of many others -- is serving as exhibit A as Doolittle seeks to make the argument that Brown is too liberal to represent his district.The issue raised in the Massachusetts civil lawsuit is about the right to publish and read controversial material, regardless of...

Former congressman gave $1,000 in 2002; Democratic rival wants money returned. The scandal created by the resignation of Rep. Mark Foley, R-Fla., for sending lurid computer messages to House pages is beginning to infect the hot 4th District campaign fight between Rep. John Doolittle and his Democratic rival, retired Air Force officer Charlie Brown.Doolittle said in a statement that he had no knowledge of Foley's inappropriate electronic exchanges until the scandal burst wide open 10 days ago. Doolittle received a $1,000 contribution from Foley in 2002 and the Roseville Republican's political action committee, the Superior California Federal Leadership Fund, reciprocated...

WASHINGTON -- Rep. John Doolittle of Roseville and his Democratic challenger, former Air Force officer Charles Brown, are fighting an open battle over what the eight-term Republican lawmaker knew about the sex trade in distant lands -- and when he knew it. Two weeks ago, the Brown campaign went on the attack with radio ads accusing Doolittle of tolerating forced abortion and sex slavery by supporting disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff in his defense of the garment industry in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. The Doolittle campaign responded with its own radio ads this week, drawing in former Rep....

STOCKTON - Vice President Dick Cheney on Monday campaigned for two veteran California GOP congressman who find themselves facing unexpected primary challenges as Republicans are seeking to hold onto their majorities in Congress. Cheney spoke at a private luncheon in Sacramento for Rep. John Doolittle of Roseville and during a fundraising dinner in Stockton for Rep. Richard Pombo of Tracy. Pombo, an eight-term congressman, faces the more serious challenge in the June 6 primary election. Pete McCloskey, a 78-year-old war hero and former congressman, has challenged Pombo on his environmental record and by tapping into voter unrest. A moderate, he...

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Two Republican congressman from Northern California used their positions to try to stop a federal investigation of a Texas businessman who had given them political contributions, the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday. Reps. John T. Doolittle and Richard W. Pombo, along with former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas, fought an investigation by federal banking regulators of Houston millionaire Charles Hurwitz, according to government documents and copies of letters between the congressmen and Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. officials obtained by The Times. The FDIC was seeking $300 million from Hurwitz for his alleged role in...