ANOTHER ONE BITES THE DUST: CURT WELDON, AFTER 20 YEARS IN CONGRESS

[Jeffersons Ghost]

M. O'BRIEN: On Capitol Hill today, the Mark Foley e-mail scandal. The investigation still churning along. The House Ethics Committee to hear from the chief of staff to Louisiana Congressman Rodney Alexander. He brought Foley's e-mails to a teenager, a House page, to the attention of House leaders.

And another Republican in hot water this morning just three weeks before Election Day. Sources telling CNN, Pennsylvania Congressman Curt Weldon is under investigation for allegedly steering contracts to his daughter's company. CNN's Dana Bash live now from Capitol Hill with more.

Dana.
An update on CNN, just stated that the FBI searched private offices and residences of this dynamic duo. Here's an earler CNN transcript:

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, Miles, two sources with knowledge of this investigation confirm that the Justice Department is, in fact, looking into whether or not Curt Weldon used his influence and his position to help his daughter, who is a lobbyist, secure contracts for clients. Now these sources say these lobbying contracts have been under scrutiny at the Justice Department for months now. But Curt Weldon's chief of staff tells CNN, neither the congressman, nor his attorney, nor anyone on his staff has been contacted and they have no independent knowledge that this probe is even happening.

Now Weldon has been in office for about 20 years. He is a Republican who has been very secure in his seat until this year. He's in really one of the fights of his life politically who's already in danger of losing his seat. But the issue that had been playing most in his suburban Philadelphia district has been the war in Iraq. And now news of this probe brings in another negative narrative for Republicans this year, and that is potential of corruption and potential of another scandal.

But it is also important to note, Miles, that Curt Weldon's top aide tell us that they think that that's exactly why this is all coming to light three weeks before Election Day. He is lashing out at a liberal-leaning watchdog group and the Democratic Party for bringing publicity to this issue at this time, so close to the election. It is also important to point out that the Democratic Party has sent flyers to constituents on this issue in the past couple of days.

[Eurobabe]

1. The CONS bring this shit on themselves

What could be so BAD about someone exposing it? If it is the Democrats, hats off to them. They've finally learned the plays in Rove's book.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

2. BULL, the Dems are playing fair, KKKarl is a spinner of swiftboat lies

[Eurobabe]

11. I never said they weren't playing fair

I'm all for any method of exposing these treacherous bastard CONS.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

13. I'm sure you mean nothing by the comment... That 4-letter "R" gets to me..

I'd like to see KKKarl get some jail time... I thought they had him a while back but he's slippery as an eel.

Wow, he even LOOKS like an eel!

[Eurobabe]

16. Agreed, Rove is the Supreme Scumbag of this admin.

behind Crashcart, Dumbsfeld, et al. Nothing would please me more than to see that sucker in an orange jumpsuit!! Thought we had him there with Plamegate. <sigh>

[snowbear]

3. Wonder if ol' Lou on CNN will be pissed?

He seems to like Weldon.. Or at least.. he's on his show every other day it seems.....

[Jeffersons Ghost]

5. LOL, I want to see Well-done the NEXT time he's on with Dobbs! n/t

[Bozita]

4. You can piss on your opposition only so long as the wind doesn't splatter

... your pants.

Keep pissing, Mr. Weldon. The wind is just starting to pick up.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

6. nice picture of him, isn't it?

[OXM]

7. Russian Dolls (n/t)

[Jeffersons Ghost]

15. kick to publicize their most recent criminal in office

[eShirl]

8. The FBI is the tool of the Democratic Party.

Who knew?

[Jeffersons Ghost]

9. William J. Jefferson (D-La.) sure didn't think so n/t

[EST]

10. Hmmm...

Isn't he a charter member of the "What-me worry, I don't mind being wire tapped and spied on because I have nothing to hide" crowd?

I read the LA times article from February and, if they are even close to accurate, he is in ethical trouble up to his neck and, just because he feels powerful and entitled therefore it must be ok, doesn't make it so.

[Jeffersons Ghost]

12. after I heard about the FBI searching his estate late last night...

I went looking for info on the raids and found some posts over in freeper-land about him that said he was responsible for warning Clinton about Bin Laden (Able-Danger) but ABC News says, "Weldon, regarded by some as a foreign policy expert, has clashed at times with the Bush administration. In the last year, he has repeatedly said a secret military unit called "Able Danger" used data-mining to link four Sept. 11 hijackers to al-Qaida more than a year before the attacks. A Pentagon report rejected the idea."

http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory?id=2573663

I guess those guys at the Free Republican simply made a mistake, right?

[FormerDittoHead]

14. Coming from South Jersey - Bye bye!

My father in law worked for Boeing in Ridley Park and thought this guy walked on water, fighting for billion dollar jets that didn't fly to fight enemies that didn't exist...

Bye bye Curt!

[MiniMe]

17. I feel sorry for the repubs...NOT

They have covered this crap up for years, they probably even encourage this kind of stuff. If they had exposed it when they were aware of it, it wouldn't have come up to bite them a month before the election.