Rangel's Legal Tab Now Up to $1.8 Million

For a guy drawing a relatively modest paycheck he sure seems to have plenty of money on hand to pay for his legal defense. Oh, wait. He's using campaign contributions?

The party's over for Charlie Rangel, but not the legal bills.

The embattled Harlem Democrat has forked over $111,170 to lawyers since July from his campaign stash, federal filings released Friday show. The bulk went to fighting 13 ethics charges.

That cash comes from the $403,630 pot of money he raised this summer, most notably from his 80th birthday bash at The Plaza which attracted the Democratic elite.

Rangel's total legal tab from his ethics battle is more than $1.8 million, a growing expense he highlighted during his rant on the House floor last month when he railed against lawmakers who wanted him to resign rather than fight the charges.

He's not the only one using campaign cash as a legal defense fund.

Rep Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) has spent $75,000 of his campaign funds on Dorsey & Whitney, the law firm representing him in an ongoing FBI probe of corruption in Queens, the federal data shows.

Gov. Paterson spent $900,000 from his campaign treasury this year on legal bills to battle three investigations, including whether he improperly obtained Yankee tickets.

While politicians coughing up campaign cash for their legal messes isn't illegal or uncommon, watchdogs say it's inappropriate.

Of course if Republicans did it there's be a furor. When corrupt Democrats do it then it's OK, apparently.