Ex-Virginia governor’s defense fund reaches about $550K

(AP) – Former Gov. Bob McDonnell’s legal defense fund raised about $50,000 during the first quarter of 2016, bringing the total raised to nearly $550,000.

The fund’s organizers have estimated McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, would need more than $1 million to pay lawyers representing them in their public corruption case.
    
A report filed with the Internal Revenue Service says the restoration fund spent nearly $4,900 in the first quarter, leaving a little more than $46,000 cash on hand.
    
The fund’s biggest year was 2014, when it took in more than $323,000. That’s the year the McDonnells were convicted of accepting more than $165,000 in gifts and loans from a vitamin executive in exchange for promoting his products. Both have been sentenced to prison but are free pending appeals.