Curt Weldon - Criminal Investigation and Grand Jury Probe

Criminal Investigation and Grand Jury Probe

As of April 2008, Weldon was still facing a criminal investigation by the Justice Department's Public Integrity Section for suspected unlawful ties to two Russian companies and two Serbian brothers with links to alleged war criminal Slobodan Milosevic. In a filing in mid-April with the Federal Election Commission, Weldon's campaign committee reported that it transferred $70,000 to the "Weldon Legal Expense Trust".

When reports surfaced of this in September 2006, Russ Caso, Weldon's chief of staff, said that the congressman and his staff were unaware of any investigation. Events followed in rapid order:

• On October 13, 2006, it was reported in the media that the Justice Department was investigating whether Weldon illegally traded his political influence for lucrative lobbying and consulting contracts for his daughter. This represented a more serious investigation following on the heels of an FBI probe, ongoing for the past several months, into similar charges.

• According to a report in the October 15, 2006, Philadelphia Inquirer, the FBI and Justice Department's investigations were triggered by a 2004 article in the Los Angeles Times reporting on Weldon and his daughter Karen's links to the Russians and Serbians.

• On October 16, 2006, FBI agents raided the home of Weldon's daughter, Karen, as well as five other locations of Weldon associates in Pennsylvania and Florida as part of the investigation. According to an article in the October 17, 2006, edition of The New York Times, "investigators are trying to determine whether Mr. Weldon misused his official position to help his daughter’s company obtain lobbying contracts from foreign clients and helped steer contracts to favored firms." On October 17, 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Weldon "acknowledged yesterday that he was under investigation." Before Weldon's public confirmation, an unnamed federal law enforcement official mentioned in press accounts said that Weldon had not yet been told about the inquiry because it was only over the last few months that the FBI had obtained evidence suggesting the congressman may have broken the law.

• On October 18, 2006, The Washington Post reported a grand jury had been impaneled as part of the investigation. Evidence reportedly had been obtained through wiretaps of Washington area cellphones; how those telephones were connected to Weldon, his family, or associates was not specified.

• On October 19, 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Weldon has in his possession a letter from the House Ethics Committee that he claims "closed the case" about whether he used his influence to help his daughter. Weldon said he has not decided whether or not to release the letter. Although emails from the Weldon campaign quoted by the Inquirer claim the Ethics panel "closed the case in 2004", the article reveals the matter was not dismissed until September 29, 2006. The Ethics Committee action is not binding on the Department of Justice investigation.

• On December 22, 2006, the LA Times reported that a federal grand jury had subpoenaed Weldon's congressional records prior to the November elections. Because a member must notify House leadership promptly if they receive subpoenas while the House is in session to be entered into the Congressional Record, Weldon may have violated House rules depending on when he received the subpoenas.

On July 17, 2007, The Washington Post reported that, as of Spring 2007, federal investigators were continuing to examine Weldon's official actions taken on behalf of his daughter Karen's lobbying clients. The same article noted that Weldon had spent at least $30,000 in legal fees and related investigatory expenses as a result of the probe.

To this date, no charges have been brought against either Curt, or his daughter Karen Weldon, for anything related to the raids of 2006.