What's Behind the Large Legal Bills Being Paid By the 2012 Ron Paul Campaign?

On the heels of the news that Kent Sorenson appears to be cooperating with federal investigators, mostly likely with regard to the under the table payments made to him by a Ron Paul Inc. operative during the 2012 Ron Paul campaign, Russ Choma at Open Secrets notes:

[T]he campaign suddenly began paying very large legal bills last summer on a schedule that roughly coincided with the subpoenas and Sorenson’s plea deal.

Those big legal bills have continued to pile up for the campaign. In the final three months of 2014, for example, the campaign paid more than $127,000 to three different legal firms — including two pricey Washington, D.C. firms, and a third lesser-known firm. To put that in perspective, the campaign only spent $187,000 in the quarter.

Andrews Kurth LLP, a large international law firm with offices in Washington, was paid more than $68,000 on Dec. 29, and LeClair Ryan, another high-end Washington firm, was paid $39,332 on the same date. A third firm, Harvey & Binnall, was also paid $20,000 on that day. According to the Washington Post, Jesse Binnall, a partner at that firm, has represented [Ron Paul Inc operative Dimitri] Kesari, but Binnall is no longer with Harvey & Binnall. Binnall could not be reached for comment.