In an interview, Fischer credited Rep. Weldon for bringing Saratov to Navair's attention, calling him "a very proactive member of Congress."
He said Weldon was looking for money for the project. "The money is a sensitive question, but we are confident it will come," Fischer said.
Conallen said Weldon had not yet taken steps to get the funding authorized by Congress.
Asked later about Karen Weldon's involvement, Navair provided a written response saying that Fischer met with her twice during the discussions with Saratov but did not realize she worked for the company.
"Dr. Fischer was aware that Ms. Weldon was Rep. Weldon's daughter, but he was not aware that she had a business relationship with Saratov," the response said. "She did not identify herself other than by her name, and Dr. Fisher [sic] assumed her to be doing staff work for Congressman Weldon."
Solutions' attorney, Joseph M. Fioravanti, on Thursday said the firm's finder's fee was eliminated under a new contract with Saratov signed in November. That contract was transferred to a new firm that Sexton and Karen Weldon formed last year. Fioravanti declined to provide more information on the new firm, Solutions Worldwide Inc. He said Saratov began paying the new firm $20,000 a month in December.
At least four laws prohibit companies that receive federal contracts from paying contingency fees to lobbyists, according to Tom Susman, chairman of the ethics committee of the American League of Lobbyists.
"We realized that with government contracts you're not supposed to get a percent, so we revised it," Karen Weldon said. "We were worried that it might look inappropriate."
A Family Affair
Clearing the Karic family name in the United States has become something of a crusade for Rep. Weldon.
Their relationship dates to 1999, when he led a congressional delegation to Vienna that tried to broker a deal to end the war between Yugoslavia and the province of Kosovo.
By then, Milosevic's record of atrocities had been thoroughly documented. NATO had gone to war with the Belgrade regime, and U.S. bombers had pounded the capital to force the Yugoslav leader to withdraw from Kosovo.
In public statements about the trip, Weldon has said that he and his colleagues met Dragomir Karic, who was introduced as a confidant of Milosevic who could negotiate a deal with the United States. His brother, Bogoljub, was a member of Milosevic's cabinet.
