A House Republican under Justice Department investigation because of ties to convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff has garnered help with his legal bills from a handful of colleagues, including Minority Leader John A. Boehner.

Rep. John T. Doolittle, R-Calif., reported in a filing made available Thursday that his legal expense fund had received $5,000 from Boehner’s leadership PAC. The money was part of $36,500 kicked in by GOP colleagues to Doolittle’s legal defense between June 27, when he opened the fund, and year’s end.

Boehner made the donation because Doolittle “was a friend dating to the early 1990s, when they worked together as part of the Gang of Seven,” Boehner spokesman Kevin Smith said, referring to then-minority party back-benchers who took on majority Democrats during the House banking scandal.

Doolittle’s fund reported taking in a total of $66,250 last year, of which all but $15,889 had been spent by Dec. 31.

Doolittle’s wife, Julie, was a fundraiser for Abramoff. FBI agents searched their home last year as part of the ongoing investigation into the way he and various public officials conducted business.

Other Republican lawmakers who contributed money from their campaign funds or leadership committees included Sens. Saxby Chambliss of Georgia, Orrin G. Hatch of Utah and Wayne Allard of Colorado, and Reps. Dan Burton of Indiana, Wally Herger of California, Jack Kingston of Georgia, Sam Johnson of Texas, and Howard P. “Buck” McKeon and Dana Rohrabacher of California.

Doolittle, who has steadfastly denied wrongdoing, has announced that he will not seek a 10th term in office.

Florida Rep. Tom Feeney, another House Republican caught up in the Abramoff controversy, reported that his legal expense account accepted no donations in the final months of 2007 and paid $16,964 to FTI Consulting, a Baltimore-based legal assistance firm.

Feeney was part of a 2003 golf trip to Scotland financed by Abramoff.

Pennsylvania Republican Rep. Phil English, who launched his legal fund in June to pay costs from defamation lawsuit brought by a past campaign challenger, accepted $23,500 in donations from individuals and corporations in the final quarter of 2007, bringing his total for the year to $26,000. After paying law firms in Washington, D.C., and Harrisburg, Pa., $452 would have been left on Dec. 31.