Rep. John Doolittle (R-California) is accusing the Department of Justice of using an FBI raid of his home to take the pressure off embattled U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales.

FBI agents raided the northern Virginia home Doolittle shares with his wife, Julie. News of the incident was reported on April 18, a day before Gonzales testified about a political scandal.

"I do not believe it was a coincidence that the leak came the day before Attorney General Alberto Gonzales testified before Congress on charges that his office was overly partisan in its firing of eight U.S. Attorneys, especially considering Gonzales specifically cited his recent prosecution of Republican members of Congress as evidence to the contrary," Doolittle wrote in a guest column in The Auburn Journal on Saturday.

Doolittle and his wife have been linked to the Abramoff scandal. Doolittle once defended Abramoff's work and inserted comments into the Congressional Record that praised the Mississippi Band of Choctaw Indians, Abramoff's biggest client.

Doolittle has stepped down from the House Appropriations Committee but says he did nothing wrong.

Get the Story:
Doolittle berates the FBI over raid on his Va. home (The Hill 5/8)
Doolittle says he holds no fear of the truth (AP 5/8)
Skies Haven’t Brightened for California Rep. Doolittle Since ’06 Close Call (Congressional Quarterly 5/7)
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Relevant Links:
Rep. John Doolittle - http://www.house.gov/doolittle

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