Doolittle updates: New subpoena, Gaines conference call

The AP is reporting that the House of Representative's chief administrative officer has been subpoenaed for unspecified documents related to Rep. John Doolittle, who has been under investigation for his ties to jailed lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Daniel Beard, the House's administrator, disclosed the subpoena in a notice read on the House floor Thursday evening.

The move comes after the Department of Justice raided Doolittle's home earlier this year and subpoenaed Doolittle himself, along with member of his staff.

The AP reported Doolittle's attorney and the DOJ did not respond to queries for comment.

Beard also was subpoenaed last month, for records related to Ed Buckham, one-time chief of staff to former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.

Meanwhile, Assemblyman Ted Gaines, a Republican who has set up an exploratory committee to consider challenging the incumbent Doolittle, continues to reach out to the GOP grassroots in Placer County.

This week, Gaines invited conservative activists to a telephone town hall, which according to GOP consultant Jeff Flint, last about an hour in which Gaines fielded almost two-dozen calls.

This being Placer County, the callers were generally conservative. He got several calls about illegal immigration, several about the SB 777 referendum, other family values questions, and taxes and spending issues. As you would imagine, Gaines gave reliably conservative answers to all these questions.

More importantly, he did not pander to the few more left-oriented questions he got. For example, a "Karen from Rocklin" called and wanted him to do something to regulate high medical insurance premiums. While Gaines acknowledged that premiums were high, he defended market-based reforms to address the problem rather than artificial, government-imposed caps.

Sounds like a man running in a Republican primary.