Ethics probe saps $185K in Visclosky campaign cash
Legal costs outweigh donations in final 3 months of 2009(By Christine Kraly -
christine.kraly@nwi.com, (219) 662-5335 January 30, 2010)
U.S. Rep. Pete Visclosky's legal costs have ballooned in the federal inquiry into the former top source of his campaign cash.
The Merrillville Democrat spent roughly $185,000 on attorney fees in the final three months of last year, new documents filed with the Federal Election Commission show.
It's not the first time Visclosky has doled out re-election money to comply with a Justice Department probe of the lobbying firm PMA Group; he spent $100,000 in campaign funds last summer.
But the new campaign records, filed Friday, are the first clear sign he is exercising his FEC approval to cover legal bills for current and former staff questioned in the case.
FEC records show Visclosky's campaign paid $44,600 in attorney fees on behalf of Charles Brimmer and Shari Davenport.
Brimmer, Visclosky's former chief of staff, has been subpoenaed in the PMA investigation and resigned his post last summer. Congressional records list Davenport as an assistant to Visclosky.
The Hoosier lawmaker spent another $140,300 on services from Steptoe & Johnson LLP, a firm he hired last May when it became clear his office was a focal point in an investigation into PMA.
Campaign spokesman David St. John noted the bulk of legal payments were made at the beginning of the filing quarter, in early October.
"There has not been a major legal payment made since then," he said. "That is what it is. We don't have any concern of the impact on the campaign coffers."
For nearly a year, the U.S. Department of Justice has been investigating Visclosky's ties to PMA, a now-defunct lobbying firm suspected of making "straw" donations to lawmakers, concealing the true source of the money.
The firm represented defense clients, many of them Visclosky donors who received millions in federal earmarks, projects attached to bills.
Earlier this month, the U.S. House ethics committee announced it has been investigating since December whether Visclosky traded campaign cash for earmarks.
The congressman's hefty legal costs from the last quarter, between October and the end of the year, surpassed his donations, which totaled roughly $144,000.
St. John denied the latest FEC filing could be a signal that the federal case is hurting his re-election campaign, at least monetarily.
"We don't see any red flags, (like) 'Uh-oh, we're in trouble,' " St. John said. "We feel comfortable with the state of our campaign finances."
Visclosky still had more than $804,000 cash on hand at the end of last year, and he does not yet have a Democratic opponent for the May 4 primary. Four Republicans are vying to take on Visclosky in November, including repeat challenger Mark Levya, who captured just 27 percent of the vote two years ago.
St. John also highlighted the amount of homegrown donations flowing to the congressman in the final quarter of 2009. More than half of individual contributions to Visclosky came from Northwest Indiana donors.
Visclosky "takes every election seriously," and will continue to campaign throughout the region, St. John said.
"He hopes the voters of the district will see fit to keep him in office," he said.