Craig using campaign account for legal bills

WASHINGTON – Sen. Larry Craig used nearly $23,000 from his campaign account to pay lawyers who’ve been advising him since news broke he was arrested in a sex sting, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Over the past three months, Craig spent nearly $23,000 with Stan Brand, the Washington, D.C., lawyer who is helping Craig defend a complaint to the Senate Ethics Committee.

There’s no bill yet from Washington, D.C., criminal lawyer Billy Martin or public relations expert Judy Smith. Martin was hired to work on overturning Craig’s guilty plea to charges stemming from his June 11 arrest in a sex sting in the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

Craig, who has said he has no plans to run for re-election, has $474,666 in his campaign account, according to his FEC report.

FEC rules on tapping campaign contributions to pay legal bills are fairly broad. The money can’t be used for personal expenses, but generally, the only requirement is that the spending be related to legal bills connected to an officeholder’s role as an elected official.

Although each case is different, the FEC has frowned on lawmakers using their campaign cash to pay for lawyers when they get involved in situations that would have come up whether or not they were in office.

However, recent cases have allowed lawmakers and candidates to spend money on lawyers when they’ve gotten in legal hot water for matters connected to their jobs.

Most recently, the FEC issued an opinion saying that former Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., could use campaign funds for legal expenses connected to U.S. Justice Department inquiry regarding Kolbe’s knowledge of former Rep. Mark Foley’s interactions with congressional pages.

It’s not clear whether Craig plans to open up a legal defense fund or use his own money for any of his future legal bills. His campaign treasurer did not respond to phone calls.

During the three-month fundraising period, Craig also took in about $12,000 in donations, nearly all from political action committees.

Although the report shows that a number of companies donated on Sept. 10, the money actually came in before news broke of Craig’s arrest and guilty plea.

Craig also took in $1,000 this summer from the Lockheed Martin Employees PAC, $2,000 from the Bayer Corp. PAC, and $2,500 from Boise-based agribusiness J.R. Simplot Co.

Simplot has been a big Craig supporter throughout the senator’s career, said Mark Dunn, the company’s vice president of governmental affairs. The most recent donation from the company’s political action committee came before the scandal.

“We think he’s done a great job for the state, so therefore, we’ve contributed to him fairly consistently over the years,” said Dunn. They would not ask for the money back, Dunn said.