http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/young/story/406707.htmlBy RICHARD MAUER
rmauer@adn.com
Rep. Don Young has reported "no activity" in the special legal fund he set up to accept donations and pay for lawyers assisting his defense in federal investigations. The surprise disclosure, made in a statement filed Tuesday with the House of Representatives, shows that as of March 31, his re-election campaign treasury remained his main source of funds for his legal defense.
As of the end of March, his campaign account had shelled out $1.1 million in legal fees, mostly to the Washington, D.C., law firm of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer. More than $210,000 was spent since January, even as the separate legal expense fund remained inactive.
In January, Young's chief of staff and campaign spokesman, Mike Anderson, said Young created the legal expense fund so that contributors to his re-election 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 at the time, 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.
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Young is under investigation in Alaska in connection with the Veco corruption scandal. Congress has asked the Justice Department to investigate Young's $10 million earmark for a Florida 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.
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