Following the FBI search of his home, signaling the next level in the investigation of both him and his wife for their ties to Jack Abramoff, Rep. John Doolittle has stepped down from his seat on the powerful House Appropriations Committee.

The story of the eight US Attorneys who were involved in public corruption investigations centered on elected officials and subsequently fired has ensnared Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez and New Mexico Reps. Pete Domenici and Heather Wilson -- now, as details resurface about the 2002 firing of a US Attorney investigating lobbyist Jack Abramoff, the trail leads to the office of Karl Rove.

On Sunday The Washington Post ran the first in what is to be a 25-part profile on the growth the lobbying industry in Washington through the eyes of top Washington lobbyist Gerald Cassidy. Intended to be an analysis of how Cassidy rose through the ranks to become a player in DC, all the while helping to transform lobbying into the access-buying influence game it is today, it ought to be an illuminating peak at an industry under fire in the wake of the Jack Abramoff scandal.

Disgraced former Rep.

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA), apparently taking a lesson from his very weak re-election numbers and widespread concerns over he and his wife's ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, has decided to no longer employ his wife as his main campaign fundraiser. Doolittle drew criticism for employing her at a commission, directing 15% of all donations towards their household income.

A busier work schedule and fear of scandal have put the kibosh on a lot of the lobbyist-funded January junkets for members of Congress, according to this story from MSNBC. No more jetting off to Hawaii for "conferences" and a mid-winter tan, looks like actually legislating will take precedence. Dry your eyes.

The Washington Post published a run down of imprisoned super-lobbyist Jack Abramoff's 2001 holiday shopping list which listed the various expensive treats and trinkets Abramoff gifted to members of Congress he was courting. It certainly confirms just how dearly Abramoff prized Tom DeLay's actions on his behalf - he sent the former House Majority Leader $250 worth of Godiva chocolates.

Here's a little piece of pay-to-play to take you into the weekend - more from the annals of Jack Abramoff, this time an email from an associate at his lobbying firm hitting up coworkers for donations to a very friendly Senator, Thad Cochran (R-MS) to stay in his good graces. TPMmuckraker has the email and the background - it doesn't get a whole lot more clear cut that this. Money goes in, favors go out.

Rep. John Doolittle (R-CA) who narrowly won re-election last month amid growing allegations of his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, is writing a lot of checks to a law firm that handles campaign finance cases - $44,138 in all, and probably not the last of it.

Convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff is set to report to prison in Loretto, Pennsylvania today to begin serving his sentence for his Florida fraud conviction. He'd received several extensions on his reporting date because of his continued cooperation with federal prosecutors on the wide-ranging probe into his influence-peddling scheme involving several members of Congress.