event and also the Signatures and Stacks restaurants". (The two restaurants were owned by Abramoff.) Julie Doolittle's records in connection with her work for Abramoff have been subpoenaed by the United States Department of Justice. The DOJ has not filed any charges in either case. No explanation has been given as to why Greenberg Taurig made the payments to Julie Doolittle, rather than the foundation (for whom the charity event was planned) or the restaurants or Abramoff personally (as restaurant owner). Doolittle's actions on behalf of Indian tribes In February 2002, Doolittle was among more than two dozen lawmakers who signed a letter to Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton urging her to reject an Indian casino opposed by Abramoff's tribal clients. In October 2003, Doolittle appealed in a letter to Norton for quicker action for the Mashpee Wampanoag people of Massachusetts, which was seeking federal recognition as a tribe; the Wampanoag group was also a client of Greenberg Traurig, and Kevin Ring was a lobbyist on the account. Doolittle's actions on behalf of the Commonwealth of Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) One of Abramoff's major clients was the government (Commonwealth) of the Northern Mariana Islands. Doolittle visited the islands in February 1999 as part of a congressional delegation. In April 2000 and April 2001, he met with CNMI House Speaker Benigno R. Fitial in Washington D.C. On May 25, 2001, the Saipan Tribune printed a letter from Doolittle to Fitial, which noted a recent $150,000 earmark, mentioned two possible Army Corps of Engineers projects on the islands, and said "I will urge the Energy and Water Appropriations Subcommittee to include funding for the feasibility study for both projects in the FY 2002 appropriations bill." In August 2001, he backed Fitial's candidacy for governor. Doolittle was successful in securing $400,000 in Corps study funds in 2001, his first year on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development. In the governor's election in early 2002, Fitial lost. The new governor, Juan N. Babauta, cancelled the contract with Greenberg Traurig. Justice Department actions and hiring of lawyer Since then, "The congressman has not been subpoenaed or questioned by the Justice Department," as of December, 2005. On January 27, 2006, three weeks after Abramoff pleaded guilty to three federal felonies, Doolittle retained the legal services of the Virginia law firm of Williams Mullen. Doolittle's chief of staff, Richard Robinson, said the attorney