Yes the horrible Doolittle's chickens may have finally come home to roost where it counts--in his campaign war chest. District 4, i'm keeping my fingers crossed for you and sending Doolittle's rival Charlie Brown another contribution.
Doolittle slipping as big-money draw
His campaign is in debt and raising less as rival Brown in gaining steam.By David Whitney - Bee Washington Bureau
Published 12:00 am PDT Monday, July 16, 2007
Rep. John Doolittle's cachet with big Washington, D.C., campaign financiers seems to have plummeted in the aftermath of the FBI's April 13 raid on his Oakton, Va., house, and the eight-term Roseville Republican heads toward the 2008 election season with his campaign still in debt and receipts on the decline.
Meanwhile, the campaign of Democrat Charlie Brown, who came within 3 points of defeating Doolittle in November, is gaining steam. Brown's campaign raised almost twice as much as Doolittle's in the last three months and ended the six-month mark with a net cash balance of $251,000. Doolittle posted $32,250 in debts.
Doolittle's biggest expense during the three-month period was $50,000 in fundraising payments to Sierra Dominion Financial Solutions, a company owned by his wife and operated out of the couple's house. It was the company's records that the FBI was after in the April raid, conducted as part of the Justice Department's ongoing investigation into the Doolittles' relationship with convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Even with the hefty campaign payments to Julie Doolittle's company, Sierra Dominion still was owed more than $76,000 in commissions from the 2006 race.
The Doolittle campaign's second largest expense was $30,000 to defense attorney David Barger's law office, bringing the campaign's attorney's fees for defending the congressman in the last year to more than $130,000.
It is possible Doolittle's legal expenses were higher. Late last month, he formed a legal defense fund to raise money separately for those expenses, and costs for the two law firms representing him no longer will be reported as campaign expenses. The fund also has been authorized by the House ethics committee to pay the legal expenses of his wife.more at link, happy monday.
http://www.sacbee.com/111/v-print/story/274799.html