Democrat Ethan Berkowitz has more campaign money to spend than incumbent Republican Congressman Don Young going into the final weeks of the campaign. But Young isn’t burning what campaign cash he does have on lawyers anymore, leaving any investigation-related expenses to his legal defense fund.

Democratic U.S. House candidate Ethan Berkowitz also outraised his Republican opponent. Berkowitz received $520,000 in the Aug. 7-Sept. 30 reporting period. Incumbent Rep. Don Young raised more than $131,000 in the same time period. About 62 percent of Young’s contributions came from outside of Alaska, while just 29 percent of Berkowitz’s donations came from out of state.

Congressman Don Young’s campaign is spending nine times more than its taking in and most of the expense is for lawyers. Young, who is facing an FBI investigation, spent nearly $595,000 for a three-month period that ended December 31st. About $400,000 was on legal feels. He took in just over $62,000 in donations and other income. Berkowitz, a former Alaska House minority leader, announced raising nearly $125,000 in the final quarter of 2007.

U.S. Rep. Don Young’s campaign spent nine times more than it took in for the three-month period ending Dec. 31, 2007 — most of it on legal fees — according to campaign finance reports filed Thursday. Separately, Young, a Republican who faces a federal corruption probe, has established a legal expense fund. Meanwhile, Ethan raised $124,201 in the final quarter of 2007 from 577 contributors.

After shelling out hundreds of thousands of dollars for legal expenses, Congressman Don Young has now opened a legal defense fund. Meanwhile, Ethan announced raising nearly $125,000 from 577 contributors in the final quarter of 2007.

Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska), who is under FBI investigation and faces a tough reelection fight, opened a legal defense fund earlier this month, according to House filings. “We had some feedback from some folks who said they wanted to help us out but they wanted to do so through a legal expense fund, so we went ahead and did that in the hopes that our campaign funds can be freed up.”