"My people have been harmed by a whole lot of screwing around in Washington."
David Whitney's feature article about anti-gambling Doolittle's intervention on behalf of the Meskwaki in Iowa makes clear the significance of both the letter to Norton uncovered by the AP's Freedom of Information Act request, the $5,000 given to Doolittle's PAC and the trail left by Abramobb's emails. It sure doesn't look good for Doolittle. Question: Why would an anti-gambling Representative in northeast California be a key player in this scenario? Is this just the tip of the iceberg with regard to Abramobb's influence over the U.S. Dept. of the Interior?
When lobbyist Kevin Ring brought dissident members of Iowa's Meskwaki tribe to Rep. John Doolittle's office in early June 2003, it was a good bet that the Roseville Republican would be helpful.Article: Doolittle Defends Helping Iowa Tribe (Sac Bee)Ring was a former staff aide to Doolittle and his employer then, lobbyist Jack Abramoff, was a friend of the congressman and at the pinnacle of his ill-fated power.
The letter Doolittle wrote to Interior Secretary Gale Norton a few days later pressed for elections that would end an escalating tribal dispute - just what Ring's clients wanted.
In writing it, however, the vehemently anti-gambling congressman was taking a stand on behalf of a tribe fighting to reopen a casino.
Doolittle sees nothing hypocritical in that.
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