Anchorage Daily News

The legal expense fund set up by U.S. Rep. Don Young so he wouldn't have to pay his attorneys out of his campaign treasury reported "no activity" in its first quarterly report.The report, filed May 13 with the House's Legislative Resource Center, follows disclosures by his campaign this year that he continued to spend campaign contributions for lawyers after setting up the legal defense fund. Since January, he's spent more than $210,000 for legal services from his campaign account, bringing the total to $1.1 million.

Young is under investigation in Alaska in connection with the Veco corruption scandal and in Florida in connection with his $10 million earmark for a highway interchange sought by a developer who gave him campaign contributions. The Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal has also touched Young - one of his key aides pleaded guilty last year and is cooperating with the continuing federal investigation.

In April, Young's chief of staff and campaign spokesman, Mike Anderson, said Young created the legal expense fund so that contributors to his reelection campaign wouldn't find their money going to lawyers.

Some potential donors had said that they would like to donate to his campaign, Anderson said, but not his legal expenses. Others said they would contribute to his legal bills and not his campaign, Anderson said, so they decided to establish the fund.

Young's legal expense fund disclosure was due April 30. It was received by the House's records custodian shortly after noon on May 13. A representative of the House Ethics Committee, which regulates the disclosures, wouldn't comment on the timing of the filing.

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