Free Republic

WASHINGTON (AP) — A former lobbyist who was a rising star under Jack Abramoff's tutelage was sentenced Wednesday to nearly two years in prison for giving public officials meals and event tickets. Kevin Ring argued up until his emotional sentencing hearing that he was operating in a corrupt Washington environment controlled by people with money and that he did not break the law. "I found a ridiculous system full of gray areas and I manipulated it," a sobbing Ring told the judge in asking her not to lock him up. It was the first time he spoke about the charges...

WASHINGTON – A judge declared a mistrial Thursday in the case of a former lobbyist caught up in the Jack Abramoff affair, the biggest setback in the government's long-running prosecution of the influence-peddling scandal. The jury deadlocked over allegations that Kevin Ring lavished thousands of dollars worth of tickets and meals on employees of then-Republican Reps. John Doolittle of California and Ernest Istook of Oklahoma and on Justice Department officials in return for congressional appropriations and other assistance for Abramoff's clients. The panel of seven women and five men also was unable to reach a verdict on another count, on...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- FBI agents have searched the Oakton, Va., home of California GOP Rep. John Doolittle, who is under investigation in the congressional corruption investigation surrounding convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff, Doolittle's attorney said Wednesday. The search last Friday focused on records of Doolittle's wife's company, Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions Inc., said attorney David Barger.

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.

A lobbyist tied to the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal has resigned from the law firm where he worked, company officials said Monday. Kevin Ring worked with Abramoff until early 2005 and previously was an aide to California GOP Rep. John Doolittle, whose ties to the convicted GOP lobbyist are under investigation in the ongoing corruption probe. Ring resigned effective last Friday from Barnes & Thornburg LLP, said managing partner Alan A. Levin. Ring joined Barnes & Thornburg after leaving Abramoff's firm, Greenberg Traurig LLP. Barnes & Thornburg is based in Indianapolis and has offices throughout the Midwest and in Washington....