WASHINGTON — In the two days since former lobbyist Jack Abramoff admitted that campaign contributions were among his tools to win favors from elected officials, the number of politicians rushing to disgorge the money from their campaign treasuries has swelled to at least two dozen. Rep. John Doolittle, R-Roseville, who reportedly could be caught up in the ongoing investigation, is not among them. Doolittle believes that following the lead of President Bush, House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt, R-Mo., only would make him look guilty of doing something wrong. "Congressman Doolittle refuses to give even the slightest appearance of something wrong by returning money that was accepted legally and ethically," said the congressman's spokeswoman, Laura Blackman. "Mr. Abramoff only contributed $4,000 to the congressman, so it wouldn't cause much of a hardship to our campaign," she said. "But this is a matter of principle to the congressman,' Blackman added. "He has done absolutely nothing wrong and has no intention of returning any contribution from anyone that was made in an ethical and legal manner, regardless of how many of his colleagues do so out of political expediency or how much the media tries to irresponsibly distort the propriety of Mr. Doolittle's actions," she said. Democrats join the refusal Doolittle is not alone in refusing to attempt to rid his campaign of any political stink from Abramoff money by shunting past contributions to charity. Some of those joining him are Democrats. For instance, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., has received $47,000 from Abramoff associates and Indian tribes he represented and does not plan to give it away. (Excerpt) Read more at modbee.com ...
Oops, paragraphs are my friend!