Ring around the Lawmaker

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June 03, 2008 2:26 PM

News that an ex-Hill staffer had pled guilty in the Abramoff scandal – and implicated his ex-lawmaker boss – made little more than a ripple when it was announced yesterday.  It’s not hard to see why: A nobody fingering a has-been doesn’t make much of a headline.

But few bothered to identify a shadowy figure in the documents, the unnamed and apparently as-yet-unindicted-co-conspirator "Lobbyist C" who, some Abramoff-watchers say privately, may be the link to a real story.

As the Associated Press eventually noted, Mr. C is likely Kevin Ring, a former Hill aide who went to work for Jack Abramoff in 2001.  And strange as it may seem, ex-staffer Ring may be a more enticing target for prosecutors than the ex-congressman in the plea documents, Republican Ernest Istook of Oklahoma.

Why? Because Ring, already reported to be under investigation by the Abramoff prosecutors, is considered to have been Abramoff's liaison to Rep. John Doolittle, R-Calif., Ring's old boss. And Doolittle is a fellow those prosecutors have been trying to get at for a long, long time.

Indeed, Doolittle appears to have become something of a great white whale to prosecutors working the Abramoff scandal.  In the past year and a half they have raided his home and his wife's office, subpoenaed mountains of documents, interviewed as many as a half-dozen of the lawmaker's former aides, even reportedly offered Doolittle a plea deal. (He reportedly turned it down; both Doolittle and his wife Julie have maintained their innocence).

Reviewing press accounts, Doolittle appears to have accepted many more gifts and contributions than Istook did from Abramoff, his team and his clients. And he reportedly took more actions favorable to Abramoff than Istook.  Also, Doolittle is still in office. For prosecutors in the Public Integrity Section, convicting an active lawmaker is more professionally rewarding than putting a retiree behind bars.

Ring has not commented on the plea entered yesterday by John Albaugh, and what it means for him. Istook said yesterday that he is cooperating with the FBI, which has assured him he is "not a target" of the investigation. Doolittle’s office referred calls to his personal attorney, who did not immediately respond to a voice mail message.

As a postscript: The watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense today dug up several earmarks in a 2004 bill shepherded by Istook which funnelled millions to Team Abramoff clients.  Those are hardly helpful to Istook, but they may raise questions for Doolittle, also: a handful of those earmarks went to a California town located in Doolittle’s district -- represented by Kevin Ring.

This post has been revised.