Yesterday at the Crypt, the Politico's blog about Capitol Hill, John Bresnahan reported on the development that Senator Pete Domenici (R-NM) has asked the FEC to approve the use of his campaign's funds to pay the legal fees emanating from the ethics complaint CREW filed against him. 

Although initially Domenici's office did not respond, a statement was issued asserting that Domenici fully expects approval of the campaign expense:

"Senator Domenici's campaign committee, like the committees of many other Members of Congress, has sought guidance from the FEC as to whether he may use campaign funds to satisfy the fees and expenses of the attorneys who are representing him in connection with the preliminary inquiry that the Senate Ethics Committee commenced in March.

“The Senator has also asked for guidance regarding whether he can use those campaign funds to pay the legal fees of staff who have been unfortunately drawn into this inquiry. The FEC and the Senate Ethics Committee have previously authorized Members of Congress to pay legal fees in this manner, and we expect the Senator's campaign committee to receive approval to do so in this instance. As he has stated in the past, out of respect for his colleagues on the Senate Ethics Committee, Senator Domenici will not comment on the Committee’s inquiry until it is officially closed.”