Murray still raising money, says he will use for legal bills

(FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) – Lieutenant Governor Tim Murray claims he is not "actively soliciting" campaign donations, yet refuses to take down the contributions page from his website, TimMurray.org.

When asked if he would take down the donations page on his website, Murray told FOX 25's Sharman Sacchetti "no, listen we're not going to be actively fundraising like we have been, but if there's someone who thinks they want to give the committee a donation, you know we're not going to be out aggressively fundraising at all. We've already canceled fundraisers since I made that decision."

When pressed, Murray said "we have a website and we're not out actively, soliciting any donations from people as I said I canceled fundraisers and we are going to just do what we've got to do to get through the next couple of years. Still going to be politically active, there are still expenses that committees incur, request donations we've got to balance that but we've already canceled a number of fundraisers."

When asked if Murray will use money he has raised for legal bills, he responded he would, saying "listen, if those are things that come up, we will, but again, elected officials get solicited all the time for donations for support for party activities, and that's what the primary purpose is for."

Murray is embroiled in a controversy over his relationship with former Chelsea Housing Authority Chief Michael McLaughlin.  

In September, the Office of Campaign and Political Finance sent a letter to the Attorney General, suggesting Murray broke campaign finance law by accepting donations from a public employee. That employee was Michael McLaughlin, his friend and former head of the Chelsea Housing Authority, who is now charged with knowingly concealing his inflated $324,000-a-year salary.

When asked if Murray "broke the law," he responded, "I want to get to the bottom of it. If we made mistakes, I take responsibility." He says he wants to return money to people who felt pressured to give to his committee.

Last Friday, Murray announced he will not run for governor in 2014.  Gov. Deval Patrick defended his lieutenant on Friday, saying he doesn't believe an investigation into possible finance violations was what prompted Lt. Gov. Timothy Murray to skip the 2014 governor's race.

Gov. Patrick says he has answered "a lot of pointed questions" about the case and that he has full trust in Lt. Gov. Murray.

The governor says he believes Murray's decision not to run for governor was based on family concerns. He he hopes the lieutenant governor will seek public office again in the future.

The Associated Press contributed to this report

Cox Media Group