Legal Bills Continue to Mount on Specter

U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter's legal bills keep piling up. The Pennsylvania Republican spent another $18,027 in fees to Blank Rome during the first quarter of the year in connection with a Federal Election Commission audit of his 2004 campaign.

That adds to $58,000 that Specter's campaign paid to the firm last year.

The FEC completed its audit of Specter late last year. It found that Specter's '04 campaign collected more than $1 million in excessive contributions, failed to properly disclose hundreds of thousands of dollars in receipts from political party committees and political action committees and missed a key reporting deadline before the primary.

Specter's treasurer Stephen Harmelin said at the time that the campaign has "proactively taken steps to try and prevent any recurrences." Harmelin was the campaign's treasurer during the

'04 campaign.

A hefty fine could be on the horizon for Specter's campaign, although the FEC can't do anything until the Senate confirms new commissioners. With just two sitting commissioners, the six-member panel has been without a quorum for months amid a Senate battle over President Bush's nominees.

Any eventual fine wouldn't do much damage to Specter's coffers. The five-term lawmaker is raising money at a brisk pace this cycle, having already amassed $4.6 million.