California Sen. Feinstein seeks more control over her late husband’s trust to pay medical bills

LOS ANGELES — Attorneys for California U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, the oldest member of Congress who has been beset with serious health problems, assert in a court filing that she is being stiffed on payments for “significant” medical bills by a trust created for her benefit by her wealthy late husband. In the Monday petition in San Francisco Superior Court, attorneys for the Democratic senator and her daughter, Katherine Feinstein, wrote that the longtime lawmaker had built up “significant” medical expenses and sought reimbursement from the marital trust, which was established in 1996 by her husband, investor Richard Blum, who died last year. In the filing, Katherine Feinstein, a San Francisco Fire Commission member and former judge, is identified as “attorney in fact” for the senator, which is someone authorized to act on behalf of another person. But Braccini said, “We have not been presented with any evidence showing that Katherine Feinstein has power of attorney for her mother; nor has Katherine made it clear, either in this filing or directly to my clients, why a sitting United States senator would require someone to have power of attorney over her.” The senator’s spokesman, Adam Russell, said in an email that Feinstein and her office would have no comment on what he called “a private legal matter.” Feinstein is covered by Medicare and the DC Health Link, which provides health plans for members of Congress.