Last week, CREW named Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) one of the most corrupt members of Congress.   So far, Doolittle hasn't been indicted, but his former chief of staff has been. And, Jack Abramoff is one of the reasons:

Kevin Ring said he knew nothing about efforts to get a job for the wife of California Republican Rep. John Doolittle, but then investigators found his e-mails.

Ring wrote two of them to his boss, a lobbyist named Jack Abramoff. In one, he said that Doolittle's chief of staff had asked him whether a job had yet been found for her. In the second, Ring wrote that he had met personally with Doolittle, who again asked about the job for his wife, Julie.

Ring's 10-count indictment, the latest chapter in the long-running Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, makes one thing clear: His apparent desire to protect the Doolittles is now figuring very prominently in his legal troubles.

While the Doolittles remain under federal investigation, they have not been charged with any crimes and have consistently maintained their innocence.

Two of the felony charges against Ring, an aide to Doolittle before he went to work for Abramoff, directly involve his relationship with Julie Doolittle. Prosecutors allege that he obstructed justice by trying to mislead the FBI when he said he did not recall conversations about getting a job for her. And in 2004, he allegedly used interstate wires to execute a scheme when he deposited a $5,000 check into a credit union account controlled by her.