WASHINGTON — FBI agents conducted raids in two states Monday as part of an investigation into whether Rep. Curt Weldon used his influence to steer business to a lobbying firm owned by his daughter and a one-time campaign aide, Justice Department officials and others familiar with the investigation said.
Federal investigators are trying to determine whether the Pennsylvania Republican helped secure almost $1 million in contracts for a firm known as Solutions North America, run by his daughter, Karen, and a prominent Philadelphia-area Republican, Charles P. Sexton Jr. Sexton once served as the 10-term congressman's campaign finance chief.
The raids are another political setback for the Republican Party as it struggles to maintain control of Congress. Weldon, who represents a suburban Philadelphia district, is locked in a closely contested campaign with a retired Navy vice admiral.
The news of the probe comes as the FBI is looking into salacious messages sent to House pages by Florida Rep. Mark Foley, who resigned his seat.
The FBI on Monday searched four locations in Pennsylvania, including the homes and office of Karen Weldon and Sexton. Also searched was the Jacksonville, Fla., headquarters of Itera International Energy Corp., the U.S. arm of a diversified Russian-based oil and gas firm.
The FBI also searched the law office of Philadelphia attorney John Gallagher, a longtime Weldon friend and supporter who did legal work for the consulting firm, said people familiar with the probe who requested anonymity because of the ongoing investigation. The FBI did not raid Weldon's home or office.
Speaking to reporters in Pennsylvania Monday, Weldon called the investigation politically motivated. "I've never helped my daughter get anything," he said. "My kids are qualified on their own."
An attorney for Weldon questioned the timing of the disclosure of the probe, which appears to stem from an investigation on Weldon that ran in the Los Angeles Times. "I think it is very suspicious that 2 1/2 years after the Los Angeles Times broke the story, that the FBI is now getting around to looking at it three weeks before the election," said William B. Canfield.
Canfield said the House Ethics Committee reviewed the case and the matter was resolved "in a way that was satisfactory to everyone."
