Former Sen. Norm Coleman (R-MN) got a rare piece of good legal news today -- though it's unrelated to the pending matter of his appeal at the Minnesota Supreme Court of his election defeat which everyone expects him to lose.

The Federal Election Commission has ruled that Coleman can use campaign funds to pay for legal fees associated with the Nasser Kazeminy case, which involves a lawsuit in Texas alleging that a businessman conspired to funnel money to Coleman via his wife.

The committee went with existing precedents that campaign funds can be used to defend against accusations relating to a politician's official position -- that is, that nobody would have sought to bribe Coleman if he weren't a Senator.

However, the committee is silent on whether Coleman can use money from his special recount committee, which is distinct from his re-election fund.