A few news stories with some interesting allegations of campaign finance improprieties. This San Diego Union-Tribune story reports that “Acting as her husband’s campaign consultant, Julie Doolittle [spouse of Rep. John T. Doolittle] charged his campaign and his Superior California Political Action Committee a 15 percent commission on any contribution she helped bring in. As a member of two key committees in the House – Appropriations and Administration – Doolittle is well-positioned to help contractors gain funding through congressional earmarks. Between 2002 and 2005, Wilkes and his associates and lobbyists gave Doolittle’s campaign and political action committee $118,000, more than they gave any other politician, including Cunningham. Calculations based on federal and state campaign records suggest that Doolittle’s wife received at least $14,400 of that money in commissions. Meanwhile, Doolittle helped Wilkes get at least $37 million in government contracts.” The Baltimore Sun reports that “Lt. Gov. Michael S. Steele has collected thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from board members of the not-for-profit organizations selected by his office to receive unrestricted state grants, a review of campaign finance records shows. Officials with three of four African-American groups that in early 2004 received a combined $250,000 – the result of an insurance settlement received by the state – gave $13,711 to the lieutenant governor about the same time or in the months after, according to a state elections board database.”