By Rachel Kapochunas, CQ Staff

Republican Rep. John T. Doolittle of California announced Thursday his decision to retire from Congress at the conclusion of his current term in the wake of persistent ethics concerns that had put him at risk for losing re-election.

“My wife, Julie, and I have made this decision after much prayer and deliberation. It was not my initial intent to retire, and I fully expected and planned to run again right up until very recently,” Doolittle announced today during a press conference in Roseville. “But it distilled upon us that we were ready for a change after spending almost our entire married lives with me in public service. We are at peace with this choice and look forward to starting a new chapter in our lives.”

Even at the time of the 2006 race, Doolittle faced ethics questions regarding his links to Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist who has since been convicted of influence peddling and corruption. Following his narrow win over former Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Charlie Brown, ethics questions persisted for Doolittle and in April 2007 news reports announced that the FBI raided Doolittle’s wife’s home office in connection to an Abramoff probe. Doolittle’s wife, Julie, owns a consulting firm that had ties to Abramoff.

The Justice Department’s Abramoff corruption investigation of has resulted in 12 convictions, including the guilty plea of former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio (1995-2006). Some of the people in Abramoff’s circle pleaded guilty to bribery-related charges while others pleaded guilty to obstruction and tax evasion.

Abramoff has agreed to cooperate with federal investigators who are still looking into the former lobbyist’s activities.

Doolittle admits he knew Abramoff as a friend and a client of his wife’s business, but consistently denies any wrongdoing. Regardless, he was forced to step down from the Appropriations Committee following the April FBI raid.

He reported spending $28,000 on legal expenses via his legal fund between July 1 and Sept. 30, 2007. On Sept. 27, Doolittle disclosed that he and six of his aides were subpoenaed by a grand jury of the U.S. District Court for Washington, D.C.

Doolittle has also been criticized by watchdog groups for paying his wife a 15 percent commission on the money she brought in as a fundraising consultant for his campaign organization. The Doolittles said the arrangement was intended to ensure she wasn’t paid for work she didn’t do.

Rumors of Doolittle’s retirement clouded 2007 and heightened when the congressman reported just $38,000 on hand at the end of September.

Incumbents usually hold a strong re-election advantage, and nine-term Doolittle in the past faced little competition for re-election. But with Doolittle in the 2008 race, CQ Politics rated his Republican-leaning 4th District No Clear Favorite, due to the ethics cloud. CQ Politics will reassess the candidate fields as they develop to see if they warrant a ratings change.

Republican former state Sen. Rico Oller indicated prior to Doolittle’s announcement that he will be gunning for the seat if Doolittle retired. Oller made a failed bid for congress in 2004 when he lost a four-way GOP primary by 3 percentage points to Dan Lungren in California’s neighboring 3rd District.

At least two Republicans were actively campaigning for Doolittle’s seat prior to the congressman’s announcement: Auburn City Councilman Mike Holmes, whom Doolittle dismissed easily in the 2006 primary and Iraq War veteran Eric Egland, who campaigned for Doolittle last year but decided to run against him this time. For some time, state Rep. Ted Gaines has publicly discussed that he was considering launching a campaign but has not taken official steps towards running.

The 4th district, which encompasses Roseville and Rocklin, is heavily Republican, and its voters supported President Bush’s 2004 re-election effort with 61 percent of the vote.

Despite the district’s GOP lean, Democrats had been making a strong push for the seat in 2008. The Democratic base has already united behind Brown, Doolittle’s 2006 challenger. Brown lost by just a 3 percentage point margin to Doolittle in 2006 and immediately began campaigning for 2008. Brown reported $383,000 on hand at the end of September and is due to report fourth quarter totals Jan. 31.

In a statement Thursday, Brown said that Doolittle’s decision was warranted. “I believe John did the right thing today for his family, for the 4th District and for America,” Brown said. “Now is the time to unite as Americans, heal our wounds and move forward to solve the many difficult challenges we face both here in CD4, and across the country we love.”

Doolittle was first elected to the House in 1990. He served in the six-ranking member of the House in 2005 as Secretary of the Republican Conference. He co-founded the Conservative Action Team , now known as the Republican Study Committee, in 1997.