Rep. John Doolittle: no longer employ wife for fundraising
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - GOP Rep. John Doolittle said Friday he will no longer employ his wife as his campaign fundraiser, a practice that had drawn criticism because it allowed his household to benefit directly from donors.
Instead Doolittle said he will hire an outside fundraiser. He made the announcement in an op-ed piece he distributed to newspapers in his far northern California district.
The change was one of 10 steps he said he would take to re-establish confidence in his district after an election that he narrowly won amid ethics questions about his wife's fundraising and his own ties to convicted GOP lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Doolittle's wife, Julie, had done work for Abramoff and was subpoenaed more than two years ago in the U.S. Justice Department's investigation of the lobbyist. Doolittle has drawn scrutiny in the probe and has been paying an attorney to talk with federal prosecutors.
Julie Doolittle did all of her husband's campaign fundraising, and he paid her a 15 percent cut of every donation she brought in instead of the industry practice of paying fundraisers a flat fee. That meant that a portion of every donation went to the Doolittle's household.
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