$262,137: Campaign account is tapped for D.C. attorneys' advice.
WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Don Young spent more than $262,137 from his campaign account to pay legal bills this year, according to his most recent filing with the Federal Election Commission.
Between March 10 and June 15, Young's congressional fundraising committee, Alaskans for Don Young, paid two Washington law firms to advise him. Young's report shows his campaign spent $242,306 with Akin, Gump, Strauss and Hauer, and another $19,831 went to Tobin, O'Connor, Ewing and Richard.
The FEC report does not detail what sort of legal work the campaign is paying for. Young's office in Washington referred all questions to his campaign manager in Anchorage, Steven Dougherty. Dougherty would not address how the campaign money was being spent, and said he had no comment "regarding the FEC report and the legal fees we've paid."
In April, Young's campaign acknowledged paying the Akin, Gump firm a $25,000 retainer in connection with campaign contributions from a Wisconsin trucking executive under indictment. At the time, Dougherty said, "With all the innuendo, accusations and words that have been out there, I just didn't think it was a bad decision to have some legal counsel and keep them on retainer for basic feedback and second opinion."
Young hired the legal team about the time that media in Milwaukee reported that the U.S. attorney's office there was looking into campaign contributions by businessman Dennis Troha. Troha reportedly benefited from new truck-hauling rules that Young helped pass in 2005 as part of a major transportation-spending bill.
Young, who received about $20,000 in campaign contributions from Troha, his family members and associates, has said he does not recall ever meeting the man. Nor did he know Troha would benefit from new rules Young favored, he said.
Troha was indicted last month on charges of using family members to illegally funnel more than $100,000 in campaign contributions to Wisconsin Gov. Jim Doyle and the state's Democratic Party.
Young also has been under scrutiny for sponsoring a $10 million road project that helped Florida real estate developer Daniel Aronoff, just days after Aronoff helped raise $40,000 for Young's re-election. A former aide to Young on the transportation committee, Mark Zachares, pleaded guilty in the Jack Abramoff bribery scandal.
Although some lawmakers faced with sizable legal bills establish separate defense funds, federal law allows them to spend the money they've amassed in their campaign finance accounts and it is not uncommon for them to spend it. The rules for using campaign contributions to pay legal bills are fairly broad, said Bob Biersack, a spokesman for the Federal Elections Commission. The only requirement is that the spending be related to legal bills connected to their role as an elected official.
"It's certainly acceptable whenever it applies to either activity related to the campaign or the responsibilities of the person as an office holder," Biersack said.
Young's campaign took in more than $111,356 in contributions this spring, according to the FEC report, bringing his account to $1.6 million.
Young's first quarter report from the beginning of 2007 shows that he spent the $25,000 with Akin, Gump, Strauss and Hauer in March, but previous filings don't suggest he has regularly tapped his campaign account to pay legal bills.
The newest report shows he paid $85,103 to the firm on April 18, $87,128.23 on May 22 and $70,075.04 on June 15. Smaller payments to the Tobin, O'Connor firm were also spread between April and June.
The most recent FEC filings, which were due at midnight Sunday, show that other high profile House members have tapped their campaign accounts to pay lawyers. They include former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Illinois, who spent $59,884 on legal bills last quarter, according to Congressional Quarterly's PoliticalMoneyLine. And Friends of Mark Foley, the campaign committee for the disgraced former Florida representative, reported spending $277,357 on legal bills connected to the criminal investigation into the inappropriate e-mails he sent to underage pages.
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