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FEC OKs Kolbe campaign funds for legal defense

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WASHINGTON — Retired Rep. Jim Kolbe, R-Ariz., may use campaign funds for legal expenses racked up while the House ethics committee and the Justice Department were investigating his connection to a scandal involving House pages, the Federal Election Commission wrote in a draft advisory opinion made public Tuesday.

Kolbe, who retired last year, told the FEC that he incurred legal expenses after he became involved in the unfolding scandal over former Republican Rep. Mark Foley's salacious communication with former House pages.

The ethics panel last year examined what Kolbe knew about Foley's interaction with the pages after Kolbe revealed that a former page had once contacted him with concerns about Foley. Kolbe, who represented Southeast Arizona for 22 years in the House, said he told the proper authorities about the incident.

Federal law enforcement officials also opened a preliminary inquiry into a 1996 Grand Canyon rafting trip Kolbe took with two former pages.

FEC officials wrote that the legal fees count as "ordinary and necessary expenses" incurred in connection with holding federal office.

The commission will consider the case during a meeting Thursday.