Media, Pa. – The FBI raided the homes of Rep. Curt Weldon’s daughter and a close friend Monday as it investigates whether the congressman improperly helped the pair win lobbying and consulting contracts.
Agents searched Karen Weldon’s home in Philadelphia; the Springfield home of Charles Sexton, her business partner and the congressman’s close friend; and the office of their company, Solutions North America in Media and two locations in Jacksonville, Fla., said Debbie Weierman, an FBI spokeswoman in Washington. The congressman’s home and his offices were not searched, she said.
Earlier Monday, Weldon called the investigation politically motivated and the timing suspect. The Republican, who is locked in a tight re-election bid and has clashed with the Bush administration, denied wrongdoing and said he gave his daughter no special help.
“What I find ironic, if there is an investigation, is that no one would tell me until three weeks before the election,” Weldon said in Media. “This incident was 2 1/2 years ago.”
Federal investigators are looking into whether Weldon used his influence to help the company secure lobbying contracts worth $1 million from foreign clients, two people familiar with the inquiry told The Associated Press.
Weldon, a 10-term Republican from the Philadelphia suburbs and vice chairman of the House Armed Services committee, is in a close race for re-election Nov. 7 against Democrat Joe Sestak.
Last week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee mailed fliers to voters in Weldon’s district accusing Karen Weldon of getting help from her father on lobbying projects.
