By MATT APUZZO, Associated Press Writer
July 3, 2008
WASHINGTON - With an election-year corruption investigation
looming, Rep. Don Young has tapped his campaign war chest to
pay not only his own million-dollar legal tab but also to hire
lawyers for his campaign manager, who is also under FBI scrutiny.
The Alaska Republican spent more than $35,000 between October
2007 and April on lawyers for longtime campaign manager Steven
Dougherty. That's more than Dougherty himself earned during
that period and nearly as much as the campaign spent on political
polling, according to campaign finance reports.
The payments which are legal under federal law as long as
they are associated with the candidate's official duties are
another indication of how the FBI investigation has become
a drag on the congressman. Instead of coasting to a 19th term,
Young is shelling out money to pay his bills and Dougherty's
even as he faces a well-funded opponent in August's Republican
primary, Lt. Gov. Sean Parnell.
"With respect to people who have served him and been
loyal to him and who have served Alaska, he's been loyal back," said
Young's campaign spokesman, Mike Anderson.
Dougherty has worked for Young's campaigns since 1996 and
became campaign manager in 2000. Employers may pay legal bills
for their employees during criminal investigations as long
as there aren't competing interests if Dougherty wanted to
cooperate with authorities investigating his boss, for instance.
Young and Alaska Republican Sen. Ted Stevens are under scrutiny
for their relationship with VECO Corp. executives, who have
admitted bribing Alaska lawmakers to push legislation favorable
to their oil field services company. VECO executives were,
until recently, Young's largest contributor and hosted an annual
pig roast fundraiser for him.
Like Young and Stevens, Dougherty's telephone conversations
were taped by the FBI as part of a sting operation involving
the VECO executives, according to people close to the corruption
case. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation
is ongoing.
"I am not going to comment on Congressman Young's investigation
or anybody else's," Dougherty said. "Congressman
Young has made it totally clear we're not going to discuss
the investigation."
Neither Young nor Stevens has been charged and both deny wrongdoing
in the case that has upended Alaska politics.
Young has spent more than $1 million in campaign contributions
on legal fees. He is represented by the Washington law firm
of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld. His campaign finance reports
also show $35,020 in fees to John W. Wolfe, a prominent Seattle
white-collar defense attorney who represents Dougherty as well
as Stevens' son, Ben.
The campaign has also paid about $196,000 since October to
Tobin, O'Connor and Ewing, a Washington law firm, though it's
unclear whom the firm represents.
Legal fees tend to rise and fall with the normal flow of an
investigation, so it would be unusual to see that spending
pace continue when the next batch of campaign finance reports
come out later this month. Anderson would not discuss exactly
what those reports will show.
When the last disclosure reports were released in April, Young
released a statement on the fees.
"I have learned that the legal process is an expensive
process, but I have nothing to hide," he said. "When
it comes to my family and my character, the truth is priceless.
That is exactly why I hired good legal counsel, and I have
worked fully with the Department of Justice by answering their
questions and providing them with anything they have requested."
Young, who has served in Congress since 1973, is facing Lt.
Gov. Sean Parnell in August's primary. Parnell has the backing
of the popular Gov. Sarah Palin. Young has also seen Democratic
candidate Ethan Berkowitz raise twice as much money as him
during the first quarter, though the incumbent retains the
financial advantage. Such a challenge would have been unheard
of before the FBI investigation.
The FBI is investigating Young's fundraising practices. The
campaign tried last year to reimburse former VECO president
Bill Allen $37,626 for years of expenses associated the annual
pig roast fundraiser. When the check was never cashed, the
campaign sent the money to the U.S. Treasury.
Authorities are also investigating an unrelated earmark for
a Florida highway interchange sought by a developer who gave
Young campaign contributions.
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