It seems with every new arrest and new trial, the Abramoff scandal expands.  The upcoming trial of Kevin Ring brings us two top officials in the U.S. Department of Justice.  It never ends:

Two former top Justice Department officials emerged Wednesday as figures in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal as prosecutors disclosed plans to turn over some of the officials' correspondence to defense attorneys preparing for trial in the case.

The officials are former Solicitor General Paul Clement and David Ayres, one-time chief of staff to former Attorney General John Ashcroft.

Clement and Ayres were among Justice Department officials in e-mail correspondence with Kevin Ring, a former team Abramoff lobbyist and Capitol Hill aide who's facing trial on 10 counts of conspiracy, obstruction of justice, bribery and fraud.

Ring is accused of trying to get lawmakers and government officials to help him and his clients by giving them gifts such as sports tickets and meals.

Clement and Ayres were referenced by title but not by name at a federal court hearing in Ring's case Wednesday.

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.