HOUSE SPEAKER'S COMMITTEE Blackwell seeks probe into legal payments

The question deals with state campaign finance law.
COLUMBUS (AP) -- Secretary of State Kenneth Blackwell said he will ask elections officials to look into payments of legal fees by House Speaker Larry Householder's campaign committee to a fund-raiser and a top political consultant.
Blackwell will ask the Ohio Elections Commission to determine whether the payments are legal under state campaign finance law, he said Thursday.
"We don't believe political committees are legal defense funds. The finance law is pretty clear. That would not be a legitimate campaign expenditure," Blackwell said.
Bill Wilkinson, one of Householder's attorneys, said Householder obtained opinions from three law firms before agreeing last spring that campaign finance laws permit payment of "reasonable" legal expenses incurred by his chief consultant, Brett Buerck, and fund-raiser Kyle Sisk as a result of federal and state investigations.
Investigations
The FBI and IRS are investigating several allegations, including campaign finance irregularities and the misuse of corporate money.
Wilkinson said Buerck's and Sisk's contracts require the Citizens for Householder committee to cover all expenses resulting from legal proceedings being threatened or initiated "unless such threats or legal proceedings are solely the result of any act or failure to act" by the consultants.
"The matter has been reviewed by us and others, and it is our opinion it is proper," said Geoffrey Stern, an attorney for Buerck.
Sam B. Weiner, Sisk's attorney, also defended the payments.
They were "part of the negotiated terms of an arms-length contract," he said. "We are very confident of their legality and propriety."