Former Congressman Mark Foley (R-FL), who resigned last fall amidst a scandal involving House pages, has spent almost $500,000 from his campaign account on legal fees the Palm Beach Post reported today. To date, no criminal charges have been filed against Foley and he is no longer subject to House ethics sanctions because of his resignation:

Former Rep. Mark Foley, who has not been charged with breaking any laws after he sent sexually explicit electronic communications to former House pages, has spent nearly a half million dollars in legal fees this year.

The $483,254 came from leftover campaign funds Foley had accumulated during a dozen years in Congress and in the midst of a tough re-election fight last year.

Foley's campaign finance report filed with the Federal Elections Commission for the quarter ending June 30 indicates he paid $277,367 to the Washington-based Zuckerman Spaeder law firm.

That is on top of the $205,627 in legal fees he paid during the first half of the year.

Foley's legal payments are likely to be even higher because the most recent payment, in June, covered fees only through April.

Although Foley has not been charged, he has been under investigation by federal and state officials to determine whether he violated any laws in his dealings with former House pages, including sending them sexually explicit e-mails and instant messages.