John Doolittle
John Doolittle
John Taylor Doolittle (born October 30, 1950), is an attorney and an American politician. Elected to Congress in 1990, he served as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1991 to 2009, representing California's 4th congressional district (numbered as California's 14th congressional district during his first term). In the 109th Congress, he held a leadership role as the Deputy Whip for the Republican party in the House. He was succeeded in the House of Representatives by Tom McClintock. Before being elected to Congress, he had served in the California State Senate from 1984 to 1991. In the approach to the 2008 election, Doolittle lost support from previous allies and had difficulty in fundraising. He announced that he would not run again. He had been criticized by opponents for improprieties, including using his wife's one-person firm for his political fundraising, as she based her compensation on a percentage of all funds raised, including from his PAC. She made nearly $180,000 in such commissions from 2001 to 2006. His office did not stop using her firm for fundraising until January 2007. He was under investigation from 2006 to 2010 related to alleged financial improprieties. These included his and his wife's business relations with Jack Abramoff, a prominent lobbyist in Washington, DC, who was found to have defrauded numerous clients, including Indian tribes. During this period, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) listed Doolittle as among the 20 most corrupt congressmen in reports from 2006-2009. The US Attorney closed its investigation of Doolittle in 2010 without bringing any charges against him.