Curt Weldon
Encyclopedia
Wayne Curtis "Curt" Weldon (born July 22, 1947) is an American
politician. He served as a Republican
member of the United States House of Representatives
from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district
of Pennsylvania
. He was defeated in November 2006 for reelection by Joe Sestak. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee
and the House Homeland Security Committee. He was also the co-chair of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official inter-parliamentary relationship between the United States and Russia
.
family in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
. He was the youngest of nine children. He attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania
and earned a B.A.
in Russian Studies
in 1969, making him the first in his family to graduate from college. At West Chester University, Weldon became a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha
Fraternity.
After graduation, Weldon was subject to the draft, with the Vietnam War
ongoing. In November 2000, his office said he used student and teaching deferments during the Vietnam era, and had a low number when the draft lottery was reinstated. In July 2006, a Weldon spokesman said that Weldon "wanted to serve, but the military would not take him because of his extremely poor eyesight."
of Marcus Hook. Prior to that, he served as an educator in local Delaware County
schools as well as a volunteer line officer chief for the Viscose Fire Company in Marcus Hook
.
Weldon served two terms as Mayor from 1977 to 1982 and was nominated for election on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. His efforts as mayor were geared towards defending the town against the violent Pagans Motorcycle Gang
.
From 1981 to 1986, Weldon served as a councilman and later chair of the Delaware County
Council. Maintaining his interest in foreign affairs, he coordinated a USSR student exchange program in 1985 that continues to this day.
. However, Edgar did not seek re-election in 1986 but instead ran for the U.S. Senate against Arlen Specter
. Weldon then ran again for Edgar's seat in 1986 and won with a comfortable margin.
Weldon's margin for re-election grew considerably since 1986, handily defeating Democratic opponents. In 2000, he was re-elected with 65% of the vote even though Democratic Presidential candidate Al Gore
won Delaware County with 54% of the vote.
In 2004, Weldon won with 59% of the vote. By contrast, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry
got 53% of the district's vote that year. Weldon's Democratic opponent, Paul Scoles, spent $24,000 dollars running against the nine-term incumbent; in that 2003–2004 election cycle, Weldon received nearly $900,000 in campaign contributions. Scoles entered the race in the last 90 days of the campaign, when the original Democratic candidate, Greg Philips, was called up for Reserve duty to support the Iraq War.
In July, CQPolitics changed their rating on the race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican." On October 13, 2006, CQPolitics once again changed their rating on the race, from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite."
On October 26, 2006, American Prospect magazine reported that e-mails recently had been forwarded to the Justice Department that describe alleged efforts by official members of Weldon's staff to call Navy employees for information and negative statements about Democratic opponent Sestak. In one Pentagon
email, Weldon’s office is described as "calling everyone and his brother" in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) about Sestak.
On October 27, 2006, the advocacy group Campaign for America's Future
began running advertisements in Pennsylvania's 7th District questioning $233,840 in campaign contributions Weldon received from drug and insurance companies, in light of his voting history.
On November 7, 2006, 56% of the electorate voted for Sestak while 44% voted for Weldon, leading to Weldon's removal from Congress.
Congressman Jeff Flake
; Weldon once told Flake, "Doggone it, I’m not gonna let somebody stand up here in total and complete ignorance and spout off a bunch of gobbledygook. Don’t stand up on the floor and make stupid allegations because you want a headline about cutting waste. This is not waste."
Weldon co-chaired the House Oceans Caucus. In 1995, his "Oceans Agenda" legislation passed Congress, increasing funding for oceanographic research projects. Weldon was the sole House Republican on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which approves funding for U.S. wildlife refuges and wetlands preservation. Weldon is a member of Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE), where he serves as Honorary Chairman of the Oceans Protection Task Force. Weldon also serves as the honorary United States Vice President on the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS). In his district, Weldon secured funding for the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum and obtained funding for the preservation of the Paoli Battlefield, the site of a Revolutionary War battle that was slated for development.
Weldon also co-authored the Family Medical Leave Act, pushed for the extension of unemployment benefits, has consistently supported raising the minimum wage, opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement
, and voted for across-the-board tax cuts. He also played a key leadership role in welfare reform in the mid-1990s.
Weldon has worked to promote a national missile defense system, citing a need to protect the U.S. against potential ballistic missile attacks from nations such as North Korea
and Iran
. In the late 1990s, he was one of the first members of Congress to speak out about the threat that chemical and biological weapons pose to U.S. security.
Weldon made improving relations with Russia one of his key efforts in the House. He has worked with Russian leaders on a variety of issues, including efforts to improve Russia's energy supply, correct environmental damage and protect both nations from ballistic missile attack. Weldon is the co-founder of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official parliamentary exchange between the two legislative bodies. This bilateral relationship coordinates legislative efforts in the Russian Duma and the Congress to foster a better working relationship between the two nations. Recently, Weldon created a comprehensive framework designed to improve the state of relations between the two countries. Titled "A New Time, A New Beginning", his proposal makes recommendations for cooperative efforts in eleven different areas ranging from defense and national security to space exploration and scientific research.
. The delegation didn't go as official representatives of the White House, which had repeatedly refused North Korea's demands that the two countries meet one-on-one. The White House did know the trip was planned and did supply a military helicopter.
Weldon said that the meetings went extremely well. Weldon said he drew up an outline of how relations could be improved between the two countries, which would involve the complete nuclear disarmament of North Korea. North Korean leaders, including the vice-foreign minister who is the chief negotiator for the North, were receptive to the concept, said Weldon.
In October 2003, Weldon had planned to head a 10-member Congressional delegation to North Korea for his second visit. But two days prior to the October 25 departure date, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card
informed Weldon that the administration was "pulling all support." Weldon then wrote a 4½-page letter to President George W. Bush
that said that Bush's national security team was "arrogant and disrespectful" in the way it cancelled the trip. Weldon said he would continue his efforts to dialogue with North Korean officials whether the White House supports him or not. "They can’t stop me from going there", he said. "What they can do is make things supremely difficult."
In January 2005, Weldon led a six-member Congressional delegation in a three-day visit to North Korea, as well as brief stops in South Korea, China, Russia and Japan. Weldon said Pyongyang was serious about abandoning its nuclear program, but he said it wanted certain assurances from the United States — the main one being that an end to what he called "inflammatory rhetoric" from Washington.
In August 2005, Weldon went to North Korea as part of a 10-member delegation that included Ted Turner
and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg
.
A large picture of Weldon putting what his office said was an American flag pin on Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
, the head of Libya, was displayed when Weldon spoke at the Sun Myung Moon coronation ceremony.
In 2011, Weldon again visited the Gaddafi-controlled Libyan capital of Tripoli as a private citizen, on the invitation of Colonel Gaddafi. He is urging Colonel Gaddafi to step down due to bloodshed in the 2011 Libyan civil war
. He currently is waiting to meet with Gaddafi, although he has met with several high-level members of Gaddafi's government. http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/07/former-rep-curt-weldon-on-waiting-to-meet-with-gadhafi/
, Osama bin Laden
, and pre-war Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
. He has been critical of several federal agencies and of Congressional committees.
In June 2005, Weldon gave a speech on the House floor in which he described the Able Danger
military intelligence program and said that it had identified a terrorist cell involved in the 9/11 attacks in 2000, a year prior to the attacks. He suggested that defense analysts had identified Mohamed Atta
before the September 11 Attacks and ignored warnings that could have prevented the attacks.
In mid-2005, Weldon's book, Countdown to Terror: The Top-Secret Information that Could Prevent the Next Terrorist Attack on America ... and How the CIA Has Ignored It, was published. In it, he accuses the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency
, the National Security Agency
, and his colleagues on the House and Senate intelligence committees of ignoring his trove of information. These secrets, he says, come from "an impeccable clandestine source", whom Weldon code-names "Ali", an Iranian exile living in Paris. Much of the book consists of reproduced pages of "intelligence" memos faxed by Ali to Weldon’s office between 2003 and 2004.
According to the book, Iranian-supported terrorists were plotting to fly a hijacked Canadian airliner into the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, 40 miles outside Boston. The book also said that Iran was hiding Osama bin Laden
.
"Ali" was identified in April 2005 as Fereidoun Mahdavi, a frail, elderly former minister of commerce in the government of the Shah of Iran. Mahdavi has said that the bulk of the information that he provided to Weldon originally came from Iran-Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar
.
The CIA and former intelligence officers vehemently dispute Weldon's charges. Bill Murray
, the former CIA station chief in Paris, said that, after interviewing Mahdavi on several occasions and investigating his claims, the CIA determined he was lying. The CIA says that Mahdavi never gave them anything specific about Iran's weapons capability or terrorist activities. As for Ghorbanifar, he is the subject of a rare CIA "burn notice" after the agency found him to be a "fabricator" during the Iran-Contra affair.
In mid-March 2006, Weldon said that Ali/Mahdavi had told him that Osama bin Laden had died in Iran. But in late April, an audiotape was released of bin Laden speaking of events. In an interview, Weldon said bin Laden "might very well be alive. 'Ali' may have been set up."
Dave Gaubatz, a former Air Force special investigator who was as a civilian employee in Iraq in 2003, says that while in Iraq, he acquired what he considered reliable information about WMD caches in four locations that had gas and chemical weapons that were recently produced. He could not get U.S. military officials to look into the matter, so he eventually contacted Weldon and Representative Peter Hoekstra, head of the House Intelligence Committee, to share his information and to try to get them to pressure the Defense Department and intelligence agencies to do the WMD searches in four locales.
Instead, Gaubatz said, Weldon discussed a Hoekstra-Weldon trip to Iraq, under the guise of visiting the troops, that would detour to one of the locales. Once there, Gaubatz said, the congressmen planned to persuade the U.S. military commander to lend them the equipment and men to go digging for the cache. He said that Weldon made it clear he didn't want word leaked to the Pentagon, to intelligence officials, or to Democratic congressmen.
Gaubatz said that "They even worked out how it would go. If there was nothing there, nothing would be said. If the site had been [scavenged], nothing would be said. But, if it was still there, they would bring the press corps out." After a May 4, 2006 meeting, according to Gaubatz, he called a reporter at the Washington Times, who called Weldon's office to get confirmation. That inquiry, Gaubatz said, scuttled the project.
A spokesman for Hoekstra denied that Hoekstra intended to take an expedition to Iraq. Weldon's office refused to comment.
event on March 23, 2004 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building
, which was described in the invitation as being for the "Interreligious and International Peace Council." The IIPC is a program of the Universal Peace Federation
. Weldon's office initially denied that he attended the event and when shown the invitation showing him as a cosponsor said that he had been unable to attend the event. They retracted those claims upon being shown photos proving his attendance, claiming that his participation was "limited to his attendance." Investigative reporter John Gorenfeld then found a photo depicting Weldon as giving the opening "congratulatory remarks" from the stage. Weldon gave a speech about his recent trip to Libya
in front of a photo of him pinning an award on Muammar al-Gaddafi
. A spokesman for Weldon then said he "was not there for the crowning" and that "If we had known that Reverend Moon was going to attend the event, be crowned and make an unbelievably interesting speech, the congressman likely would not have attended."
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 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.
(CREW) released its second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Weldon was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from using his position to financially benefit his children and a family friend."
In response, Weldon spokesman Michael Puppio said there is "nothing illegal or improper about any of the actions mentioned" in the CREW report. He said the organization is a "front group for liberal Democrats who have a partisan ax to grind against Republicans."
, which has a helicopter plant at the edge of Weldon's district. A spokesman for Weldon said that he did not help his daughter get the job at Boeing, which is a frequent beneficiary of his work in Washington and one of his top campaign donors.
In September 2002, Karen Weldon, then 28 years old, and Charles P. Sexton Jr., about 40 years her senior, started a partnership, Solutions North America (SNA), which she said was "more of a business consultancy than a lobbying firm". Sexton is a political power broker in Weldon's district and the former owner of a security guard company, which he sold in 2003 for $6 million.
In February 2004, the Los Angeles Times
reported that all three known clients of SNA had ties to Curt Weldon:
, a subsidiary of the Italian defense firm Finmeccanica
. In January 2005, AgustaWestland won a $1.7 billion contract to build the new presidential helicopter Marine One
. Weldon was a key supporter in the win for the firm, which was competing with U.S. manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
In the fall of 2005, Agusta Westland hired Weldon's daughter Kimberly, working in the public relations office. She reportedly has a formal agreement with the company that prohibits her from lobbying Congress or contacting her father or his office on the company's behalf.
On October 27, 2006, McClatchy Newspapers
reported that Kimberly had also worked part time in 2003 for one of sister Karen's lobbying clients, a foundation run by the Karic family; Weldon has tried unsuccessfully to help Dragomir and Bogoljub Karic obtain U.S. visas.
. He signed to a driver’s developmental contract with SS Racing in late 2005 for the 2006 season." As noted in a September 21, 2006, article in The Delaware County Daily Times, citing the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) report on Weldon, "The CREW report compiles news reports in which Weldon, a member of the House since 1987, is described as using his powerful congressional position to help his daughters, Kim and Karen, son Andrew, longtime friend Cecelia 'CeCe' Grimes and close political associate Charles Sexton Jr."
The article then goes on to cite a Harper's Magazine
report, noting, "(Harper's) reported in July that Andrew Weldon, a racecar driver, is sponsored by Schaffer Motorsports, owned by a senior Boeing
Co. employee. Boeing is Weldon’s top campaign contributor." Indeed, a July 25, 2006, article on the Harper's website details the Schaffer/Boeing/Andrew Weldon connection: "Schaffer Motorsports...is owned by Tom Schaffer, a senior employee at Boeing. One of the sponsors of Schaffer Motorsports is Boeing Helicopters Credit Union, a wholly separate entity from The Boeing Company, whose logo appears on the racecar Andrew Weldon drives. The CREW report incorrectly states, "The relationship between Mr. Schaffer and Rep. Weldon is a long one." In fact, Rep. Weldon first met Mr. Schaffer during Andrew's first, self-funded and managed racing season at Bridgeport Speedway.
, where she is realtor. The lobbying firm has clients from as far away as California whose with business involves one or both of the House committees that Weldon is a member of.
Grimes told the Times she has known Weldon for about 15 years. "I coached one of his kids in junior high school", she said, declining to elaborate. In 2000, she was his real estate agent in the purchase of a house in Pennsylvania. She has been lobbying since March 2003, when she opened a firm called CC Nexus LLC — now incorporated as Grimes and Young. Grimes' partner is Cynthia Young, 28, a lawyer who lives two houses from Weldon. Her husband, Robert J. Young, worked as a paid staff aide for four months on Weldon's 2004 re-election campaign. He is the son of U.S. Representative Bill Young
(R-FL).
Grimes has signed up at least eight corporate clients, four of which are located in Weldon's district. The companies are mostly small firms seeking federal defense and domestic security funding. Among the most recent clients signed by Grimes and Young is Oto Melara, a subsidiary of Italian defense company Finmeccanica
, the firm that employs Kim Weldon. On June 1, 2005, the company agreed to pay Grimes $20,000 annually. Grimes was put in touch with Oto Melara by Weldon’s chief of staff, Russ Caso. But, Grimes said in an interview, her employment was not because of Weldon. "That's ridiculous", she said.
Another client is Advanced Ceramics Research Inc., a Tucson, Arizona
firm. Grimes lobbied about a dozen members of Congress, including Weldon, for a $3 million contract in 2005, which became the firm's first funding from a defense appropriations bill. The firm has since won a combined $43.5 million in Navy contracts and congressional funding. More than $5 million came from the Naval Air Systems Command
, an agency overseen by Weldon's subcommittee.
Grimes said that despite a lack of Washington experience, she has skills for lobbying. "It's all about networking and follow-up", she said. "My clients like my company, and that has nothing to do with Curt."
Prior to working for Weldon, Reiser was a lobbyist for Chambers Associates and served as former California Governor Pete Wilson
’s representative in Washington. She registered as a lobbyist for Novavax, a company seeking federal funding for a vaccine, on November 13, 2001; the company paid her $20,000. On December 6, 2001, Weldon and three other members of Congress held a briefing in which they and researchers from Novavax spoke of the need for a vaccine similar to the one Novavax was working on. On December 24, 2001, Reiser donated $250 to Curt PAC, describing herself as "Self-employed/political fundraiser".
Congressional ethics rules say that campaign funds should be used for "bona fide campaign or political purposes". Weldon's attorney, William B. Canfield, said that ethics rules are "entirely amorphous", and that "you may think it's a big loophole, but he's allowed to spend money that way."
, as the company's chief strategic officer.
Additionally, Weldon joined the advisory board of Novo Energies Corporation, an alternative energy company converting used tires and plastic into energy.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
politician. He served as a Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
member of the United States House of Representatives
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...
from 1987 to 2007, representing the 7th district
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district
Pennsylvania's 7th congressional district incorporates parts of the Philadelphia suburbs, including most of Delaware County. It is currently represented by Republican Pat Meehan in the 112th United States Congress....
of Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. He was defeated in November 2006 for reelection by Joe Sestak. Weldon was vice-chair of the Armed Services Committee
United States House Committee on Armed Services
thumb|United States House Committee on Armed Services emblemThe U.S. House Committee on Armed Services, commonly known as the House Armed Services Committee, is a standing committee of the United States House of Representatives...
and the House Homeland Security Committee. He was also the co-chair of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official inter-parliamentary relationship between the United States and Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
Early life and education
Weldon grew up in a blue-collarBlue-collar worker
A blue-collar worker is a member of the working class who performs manual labor. Blue-collar work may involve skilled or unskilled, manufacturing, mining, construction, mechanical, maintenance, technical installation and many other types of physical work...
family in Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
Marcus Hook is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population peaked in the 1920s with 5,324 inhabitants. 2,314 inhabitants were counted at the recent 2000 census. Marcus Hook's current mayor is James Schiliro. The borough calls itself "The Cornerstone of Pennsylvania"....
. He was the youngest of nine children. He attended West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University of Pennsylvania
West Chester University of Pennsylvania is a public university located in West Chester, Pennsylvania, about miles west of Philadelphia. It is one of the 14 state universities of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education . West Chester was ranked 69th in the Master's Universities ...
and earned a B.A.
Bachelor of Arts
A Bachelor of Arts , from the Latin artium baccalaureus, is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate course or program in either the liberal arts, the sciences, or both...
in Russian Studies
Russian Studies
Russian studies is a field of study first developed during the Cold War. It is an interdisciplinary field crossing history and language studies. It is closely related to Soviet and Communist studies...
in 1969, making him the first in his family to graduate from college. At West Chester University, Weldon became a brother of Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha
Lambda Chi Alpha is one of the largest men's secret general fraternities in North America, having initiated more than 280,000 members and held chapters at more than 300 universities. It is a member of the North-American Interfraternity Conference and was founded by Warren A. Cole, while he was a...
Fraternity.
After graduation, Weldon was subject to the draft, with the Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
ongoing. In November 2000, his office said he used student and teaching deferments during the Vietnam era, and had a low number when the draft lottery was reinstated. In July 2006, a Weldon spokesman said that Weldon "wanted to serve, but the military would not take him because of his extremely poor eyesight."
Early political career
Weldon wasn't active in politics until 1977, when he became the MayorMayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Marcus Hook. Prior to that, he served as an educator in local Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
schools as well as a volunteer line officer chief for the Viscose Fire Company in Marcus Hook
Marcus Hook, Pennsylvania
Marcus Hook is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population peaked in the 1920s with 5,324 inhabitants. 2,314 inhabitants were counted at the recent 2000 census. Marcus Hook's current mayor is James Schiliro. The borough calls itself "The Cornerstone of Pennsylvania"....
.
Weldon served two terms as Mayor from 1977 to 1982 and was nominated for election on both the Republican and Democratic tickets. His efforts as mayor were geared towards defending the town against the violent Pagans Motorcycle Gang
Pagans MC
Pagan's Motorcycle Club, or simply The Pagans, is a one-percenter outlaw motorcycle gang and an alleged organized crime syndicate formed by Lou Dobkin in 1959 in Prince George's County, Maryland, United States...
.
From 1981 to 1986, Weldon served as a councilman and later chair of the Delaware County
Delaware County, Pennsylvania
Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....
Council. Maintaining his interest in foreign affairs, he coordinated a USSR student exchange program in 1985 that continues to this day.
1984 - 2004
Weldon first ran for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for the 7th district of Pennsylvania in 1984 on the Republican ticket but lost to incumbent Democrat Rep. Robert W. EdgarRobert W. Edgar
Rev. Dr. Robert William Edgar is president and CEO of Common Cause, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization, effective May 2007. He served as a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives from 1975 to 1987, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania...
. However, Edgar did not seek re-election in 1986 but instead ran for the U.S. Senate against Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter
Arlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
. Weldon then ran again for Edgar's seat in 1986 and won with a comfortable margin.
Weldon's margin for re-election grew considerably since 1986, handily defeating Democratic opponents. In 2000, he was re-elected with 65% of the vote even though Democratic Presidential candidate Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
won Delaware County with 54% of the vote.
In 2004, Weldon won with 59% of the vote. By contrast, Democratic Presidential candidate John Kerry
John Kerry
John Forbes Kerry is the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts, the 10th most senior U.S. Senator and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. He was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 presidential election, but lost to former President George W...
got 53% of the district's vote that year. Weldon's Democratic opponent, Paul Scoles, spent $24,000 dollars running against the nine-term incumbent; in that 2003–2004 election cycle, Weldon received nearly $900,000 in campaign contributions. Scoles entered the race in the last 90 days of the campaign, when the original Democratic candidate, Greg Philips, was called up for Reserve duty to support the Iraq War.
2006
Weldon's Democratic opponent in 2006 was Joe Sestak, a Vice-Admiral who retired earlier in the year after a 31-year military career. According to the Delaware County Daily Times, Sestak proved to be a capable fundraiser and raised more money than U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon.In July, CQPolitics changed their rating on the race from "Republican Favored" to the more competitive "Leans Republican." On October 13, 2006, CQPolitics once again changed their rating on the race, from "Leans Republican" to "No Clear Favorite."
On October 26, 2006, American Prospect magazine reported that e-mails recently had been forwarded to the Justice Department that describe alleged efforts by official members of Weldon's staff to call Navy employees for information and negative statements about Democratic opponent Sestak. In one Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
email, Weldon’s office is described as "calling everyone and his brother" in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations (OPNAV) about Sestak.
On October 27, 2006, the advocacy group Campaign for America's Future
Campaign for America's Future
Campaign for America's Future is an American political organization with a strongly progressive orientation. Its main issues of concern include the environment, energy independence, health care reform, Social Security, and education...
began running advertisements in Pennsylvania's 7th District questioning $233,840 in campaign contributions Weldon received from drug and insurance companies, in light of his voting history.
On November 7, 2006, 56% of the electorate voted for Sestak while 44% voted for Weldon, leading to Weldon's removal from Congress.
Actions in Congress
Weldon's moderately conservative voting record (lifetime ACU rank: 69.9)) reflected the overwhelming Republican voter registration in Delaware County, which has varied from a low of about 61.5% to about 69.5% of registered voters 1998-2006. His voting record was slightly more conservative than the entire Pennsylvania Congressional delegation; Weldon's 2006 ACU rank was 68 vs. the average 2006 ACU rank of 57 for all 19 PA Congressmen.Domestic issues
Weldon founded the Congressional Fire Services Caucus in 1987 http://www.cfsi.org/govt_affairs/caucus.asp and has consistently fought for increased funding for firefighters. He was the author of a bill that implemented a federal grant program for local fire departments http://www.firefighting.com/articles/namFullView.asp?namID=941 that evloved into the Assistance to Firefighters Grant Program http://www.usfa.dhs.gov/fireservice/grants/afgp/index.shtm . He has fought for mandatory safety sprinklers in college dormitories and training of fire departments to deal with terrorism incidents involving chemical and biological weapons. At times, his alleged pork barrel spending was challenged by fiscal conservatives such as ArizonaArizona
Arizona ; is a state located in the southwestern region of the United States. It is also part of the western United States and the mountain west. The capital and largest city is Phoenix...
Congressman Jeff Flake
Jeff Flake
Jeffrey Lane "Jeff" Flake is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party. He was featured in the documentary series How Democracy Works Now: Twelve Stories....
; Weldon once told Flake, "Doggone it, I’m not gonna let somebody stand up here in total and complete ignorance and spout off a bunch of gobbledygook. Don’t stand up on the floor and make stupid allegations because you want a headline about cutting waste. This is not waste."
Weldon co-chaired the House Oceans Caucus. In 1995, his "Oceans Agenda" legislation passed Congress, increasing funding for oceanographic research projects. Weldon was the sole House Republican on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which approves funding for U.S. wildlife refuges and wetlands preservation. Weldon is a member of Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE), where he serves as Honorary Chairman of the Oceans Protection Task Force. Weldon also serves as the honorary United States Vice President on the Advisory Committee on the Protection of the Sea (ACOPS). In his district, Weldon secured funding for the John Heinz Wildlife Refuge in Tinicum and obtained funding for the preservation of the Paoli Battlefield, the site of a Revolutionary War battle that was slated for development.
Weldon also co-authored the Family Medical Leave Act, pushed for the extension of unemployment benefits, has consistently supported raising the minimum wage, opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...
, and voted for across-the-board tax cuts. He also played a key leadership role in welfare reform in the mid-1990s.
Foreign policy
In 1993 Weldon and Bob Dole, among other Republicans, advocated pulling out of Somalia after the "Blackhawk Down" failed snatch and grab mission of Adide cost 18 American dead.Weldon has worked to promote a national missile defense system, citing a need to protect the U.S. against potential ballistic missile attacks from nations such as North Korea
North Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
and Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
. In the late 1990s, he was one of the first members of Congress to speak out about the threat that chemical and biological weapons pose to U.S. security.
Russia and China
In June 1998, Weldon served on the Select Committee on U.S. National Security and Military/Commercial Concerns with the People’s Republic of China, perhaps better known as the "Cox Committee." The committee, five Republicans and four Democrats, investigated whether the Clinton Administration's waivers allowing U.S. military contractors to transfer military technology to China damaged national security.According to officials who have been briefed about its contents, the report concludes that Beijing's acquisition of secret American weapons designs was part of an intelligence collection effort that spanned 20 years, including both Republican and Democratic Administrations. It also enumerates an array of thefts from the Government's weapons labs, including classified information about seven advanced nuclear warheads, among them the W-88, the most sophisticated nuclear weapon in the American arsenal; that theft is believed to have occurred during the Reagan or Bush Administrations. The report also says that China stole design information about the neutron bomb.Weldon made improving relations with Russia one of his key efforts in the House. He has worked with Russian leaders on a variety of issues, including efforts to improve Russia's energy supply, correct environmental damage and protect both nations from ballistic missile attack. Weldon is the co-founder of the Duma-Congress Study Group, the official parliamentary exchange between the two legislative bodies. This bilateral relationship coordinates legislative efforts in the Russian Duma and the Congress to foster a better working relationship between the two nations. Recently, Weldon created a comprehensive framework designed to improve the state of relations between the two countries. Titled "A New Time, A New Beginning", his proposal makes recommendations for cooperative efforts in eleven different areas ranging from defense and national security to space exploration and scientific research.
Visits to North Korea
In June 2003, Weldon lead a bipartisan Congressional delegation to North KoreaNorth Korea
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer zone between North Korea and South Korea...
. The delegation didn't go as official representatives of the White House, which had repeatedly refused North Korea's demands that the two countries meet one-on-one. The White House did know the trip was planned and did supply a military helicopter.
Weldon said that the meetings went extremely well. Weldon said he drew up an outline of how relations could be improved between the two countries, which would involve the complete nuclear disarmament of North Korea. North Korean leaders, including the vice-foreign minister who is the chief negotiator for the North, were receptive to the concept, said Weldon.
In October 2003, Weldon had planned to head a 10-member Congressional delegation to North Korea for his second visit. But two days prior to the October 25 departure date, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card
Andrew Card
Andrew Hill Card, Jr. is a Republican American politician, former United States Cabinet member, and head of President George W. Bush's White House Iraq Group. Card served as U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George H. W. Bush and the White House Chief of Staff under George W. Bush...
informed Weldon that the administration was "pulling all support." Weldon then wrote a 4½-page letter to President George W. Bush
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
that said that Bush's national security team was "arrogant and disrespectful" in the way it cancelled the trip. Weldon said he would continue his efforts to dialogue with North Korean officials whether the White House supports him or not. "They can’t stop me from going there", he said. "What they can do is make things supremely difficult."
In January 2005, Weldon led a six-member Congressional delegation in a three-day visit to North Korea, as well as brief stops in South Korea, China, Russia and Japan. Weldon said Pyongyang was serious about abandoning its nuclear program, but he said it wanted certain assurances from the United States — the main one being that an end to what he called "inflammatory rhetoric" from Washington.
In August 2005, Weldon went to North Korea as part of a 10-member delegation that included Ted Turner
Ted Turner
Robert Edward "Ted" Turner III is an American media mogul and philanthropist. As a businessman, he is known as founder of the cable news network CNN, the first dedicated 24-hour cable news channel. In addition, he founded WTBS, which pioneered the superstation concept in cable television...
and former U.S. Ambassador to South Korea Donald Gregg
Donald Gregg
-Personal history:Gregg worked for the CIA for 31 years, from 1951-1982. After graduating from high school he enlisted in the military and received training as a cryptanalyst. He then attended Williams College, in Williamstown, MA, until 1951. Upon his graduation, he was recruited by the CIA...
.
Visits to Libya
In 2004, Weldon led two bipartisan delegations to Libya. The first visit, in January, was to establish contact with government officials. The second visit, in September, was to address their Congress (Libyan General People’s Congress Great Jamahiriya).A large picture of Weldon putting what his office said was an American flag pin on Colonel Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
, the head of Libya, was displayed when Weldon spoke at the Sun Myung Moon coronation ceremony.
In 2011, Weldon again visited the Gaddafi-controlled Libyan capital of Tripoli as a private citizen, on the invitation of Colonel Gaddafi. He is urging Colonel Gaddafi to step down due to bloodshed in the 2011 Libyan civil war
2011 Libyan civil war
The 2011 Libyan civil war was an armed conflict in the North African state of Libya, fought between forces loyal to Colonel Muammar Gaddafi and those seeking to oust his government. The war was preceded by protests in Benghazi beginning on 15 February 2011, which led to clashes with security...
. He currently is waiting to meet with Gaddafi, although he has met with several high-level members of Gaddafi's government. http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2011/04/07/former-rep-curt-weldon-on-waiting-to-meet-with-gadhafi/
Iraq, Iran, and terrorism
Weldon has frequently taken contrarian positions on such subjects as Saddam HusseinSaddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein Abd al-Majid al-Tikriti was the fifth President of Iraq, serving in this capacity from 16 July 1979 until 9 April 2003...
, Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
, and pre-war Iraqi weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction
A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill and bring significant harm to a large number of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general...
. He has been critical of several federal agencies and of Congressional committees.
In June 2005, Weldon gave a speech on the House floor in which he described the Able Danger
Able Danger
Able Danger was a classified military planning effort led by the U.S. Special Operations Command and the Defense Intelligence Agency...
military intelligence program and said that it had identified a terrorist cell involved in the 9/11 attacks in 2000, a year prior to the attacks. He suggested that defense analysts had identified Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Atta
Mohamed Mohamed el-Amir Awad el-Sayed Atta was one of the masterminds and the ringleader of the September 11 attacks who served as the hijacker-pilot of American Airlines Flight 11, crashing the plane into the North Tower of the World Trade Center as part of the coordinated attacks.Born in 1968...
before the September 11 Attacks and ignored warnings that could have prevented the attacks.
Iranian informer
In mid-2005, Weldon's book, Countdown to Terror: The Top-Secret Information that Could Prevent the Next Terrorist Attack on America ... and How the CIA Has Ignored It, was published. In it, he accuses the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency
Defense Intelligence Agency
The Defense Intelligence Agency is a member of the Intelligence Community of the United States, and is the central producer and manager of military intelligence for the United States Department of Defense, employing over 16,500 U.S. military and civilian employees worldwide...
, the National Security Agency
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency/Central Security Service is a cryptologic intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense responsible for the collection and analysis of foreign communications and foreign signals intelligence, as well as protecting U.S...
, and his colleagues on the House and Senate intelligence committees of ignoring his trove of information. These secrets, he says, come from "an impeccable clandestine source", whom Weldon code-names "Ali", an Iranian exile living in Paris. Much of the book consists of reproduced pages of "intelligence" memos faxed by Ali to Weldon’s office between 2003 and 2004.
According to the book, Iranian-supported terrorists were plotting to fly a hijacked Canadian airliner into the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, 40 miles outside Boston. The book also said that Iran was hiding Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden was the founder of the militant Islamist organization Al-Qaeda, the jihadist organization responsible for the September 11 attacks on the United States and numerous other mass-casualty attacks against civilian and military targets...
.
"Ali" was identified in April 2005 as Fereidoun Mahdavi, a frail, elderly former minister of commerce in the government of the Shah of Iran. Mahdavi has said that the bulk of the information that he provided to Weldon originally came from Iran-Contra arms dealer Manucher Ghorbanifar
Manucher Ghorbanifar
Manucher Ghorbanifar is an expatriate Iranian arms dealer. He is best known as a middleman in the Iran-Contra Affair during the Ronald Reagan presidency. He re-emerged in American politics during the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq during the first term of President George W...
.
The CIA and former intelligence officers vehemently dispute Weldon's charges. Bill Murray
William D. (Bill) Murray
William D. Murray retired from the Central Intelligence Agency in March 2005, after a career of 40 years of military and civilian government service. During his 36 years with CIA, Mr. Murray rose from entry level to the highest levels of the Senior Executive Service and managed field operations in...
, the former CIA station chief in Paris, said that, after interviewing Mahdavi on several occasions and investigating his claims, the CIA determined he was lying. The CIA says that Mahdavi never gave them anything specific about Iran's weapons capability or terrorist activities. As for Ghorbanifar, he is the subject of a rare CIA "burn notice" after the agency found him to be a "fabricator" during the Iran-Contra affair.
Death of Bin Laden
In mid-March 2006, Weldon said that Ali/Mahdavi had told him that Osama bin Laden had died in Iran. But in late April, an audiotape was released of bin Laden speaking of events. In an interview, Weldon said bin Laden "might very well be alive. 'Ali' may have been set up."
Hidden weapons of mass destruction
Dave Gaubatz, a former Air Force special investigator who was as a civilian employee in Iraq in 2003, says that while in Iraq, he acquired what he considered reliable information about WMD caches in four locations that had gas and chemical weapons that were recently produced. He could not get U.S. military officials to look into the matter, so he eventually contacted Weldon and Representative Peter Hoekstra, head of the House Intelligence Committee, to share his information and to try to get them to pressure the Defense Department and intelligence agencies to do the WMD searches in four locales.
Instead, Gaubatz said, Weldon discussed a Hoekstra-Weldon trip to Iraq, under the guise of visiting the troops, that would detour to one of the locales. Once there, Gaubatz said, the congressmen planned to persuade the U.S. military commander to lend them the equipment and men to go digging for the cache. He said that Weldon made it clear he didn't want word leaked to the Pentagon, to intelligence officials, or to Democratic congressmen.
Gaubatz said that "They even worked out how it would go. If there was nothing there, nothing would be said. If the site had been [scavenged], nothing would be said. But, if it was still there, they would bring the press corps out." After a May 4, 2006 meeting, according to Gaubatz, he called a reporter at the Washington Times, who called Weldon's office to get confirmation. That inquiry, Gaubatz said, scuttled the project.
A spokesman for Hoekstra denied that Hoekstra intended to take an expedition to Iraq. Weldon's office refused to comment.
March 2004 coronation
Weldon was one of six "Congressional Co-Chairs" for a Sun Myung MoonSun Myung Moon
Sun Myung Moon is the Korean founder and leader of the worldwide Unification Church. He is also the founder of many other organizations and projects...
event on March 23, 2004 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building
Dirksen Senate Office Building
The Dirksen Senate Office Building is the second office building constructed for members of the United States Senate in Washington, D.C., and was named for the late Minority Leader Everett Dirksen from Illinois in 1972.-History:...
, which was described in the invitation as being for the "Interreligious and International Peace Council." The IIPC is a program of the Universal Peace Federation
Universal Peace Federation
There are a number of organizations founded, run, or supported by Sun Myung Moon, the founder of the Unification Church. Commentators have mentioned Moon's belief in a literal Kingdom of God on earth to be brought about by human effort as a motivation for his establishment of groups that are not...
. Weldon's office initially denied that he attended the event and when shown the invitation showing him as a cosponsor said that he had been unable to attend the event. They retracted those claims upon being shown photos proving his attendance, claiming that his participation was "limited to his attendance." Investigative reporter John Gorenfeld then found a photo depicting Weldon as giving the opening "congratulatory remarks" from the stage. Weldon gave a speech about his recent trip to Libya
Libya
Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
in front of a photo of him pinning an award on Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar al-Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar Gaddafi or "September 1942" 20 October 2011), commonly known as Muammar Gaddafi or Colonel Gaddafi, was the official ruler of the Libyan Arab Republic from 1969 to 1977 and then the "Brother Leader" of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011.He seized power in a...
. A spokesman for Weldon then said he "was not there for the crowning" and that "If we had known that Reverend Moon was going to attend the event, be crowned and make an unbelievably interesting speech, the congressman likely would not have attended."
Criminal investigation and grand jury probe
As of April 2008, Weldon was still facing a criminal investigation by the Justice Department's Public Integrity SectionPublic Integrity Section
The Public Integrity Section is a section of the Criminal Division of the U.S. Department of Justice charged with combating political corruption at all levels of government through the prosecution of corrupt federal, state, and local elected and appointed public officials.-Administrative...
for suspected unlawful ties to two Russian companies and two Serbian brothers with links to alleged war criminal Slobodan Milosevic
Slobodan Milošević
Slobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
. 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 DepartmentUnited States Department of JusticeThe United States Department of Justice , is the United States federal executive department responsible for the enforcement of the law and administration of justice, equivalent to the justice or interior ministries of other countries.The Department is led by the Attorney General, who is nominated...
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 FBIFederal Bureau of InvestigationThe Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
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 TimesLos Angeles TimesThe Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
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 TimesThe New York TimesThe New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, "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."http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/17/washington/17weldon.html?_r=2&ei=5094&en=b1c0dfc5b96d500c&hp=&ex=1161057600&adxnnl=1&oref=slogin&partner=homepage&adxnnlx=1161057819-s2XxeShA31FM9wFaoXe45Q&oref=slogin On October 17, 2006, The Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
reported that Weldon "acknowledged yesterday that he was under investigation."http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15775792.htm 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 PostThe Washington PostThe Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
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 InquirerThe Philadelphia InquirerThe Philadelphia Inquirer is a morning daily newspaper that serves the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, metropolitan area of the United States. The newspaper was founded by John R. Walker and John Norvell in June 1829 as The Pennsylvania Inquirer and is the third-oldest surviving daily newspaper in the...
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 juryGrand juryA grand jury is a type of jury that determines whether a criminal indictment will issue. Currently, only the United States retains grand juries, although some other common law jurisdictions formerly employed them, and most other jurisdictions employ some other type of preliminary hearing...
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 RecordCongressional RecordThe Congressional Record is the official record of the proceedings and debates of the United States Congress. It is published by the United States Government Printing Office, and is issued daily when the United States Congress is in session. Indexes are issued approximately every two weeks...
, 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.
Lobbying and family controversies
In September 2006, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in WashingtonCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington is a nonprofit 501 organization that describes itself as "dedicated to promoting ethics and accountability in government and public life by targeting government officials – regardless of party affiliation – who sacrifice the common good to...
(CREW) released its second annual report on members of Congress with ethics issues, titled "Beyond DeLay: The 20 Most Corrupt Members of Congress (and five to watch)". Weldon was one of the 20. The organization said "His ethics issues stem from using his position to financially benefit his children and a family friend."
In response, Weldon spokesman Michael Puppio said there is "nothing illegal or improper about any of the actions mentioned" in the CREW report. He said the organization is a "front group for liberal Democrats who have a partisan ax to grind against Republicans."
Family
Weldon and his wife, Mary Gallagher, have five children; Karen, Kristen, Kimberly, Curt Jr. and Andrew.Karen Weldon
Karen Weldon, Curt Weldon's daughter, received an undergraduate degree in education and a graduate degree in information systems. After college, she spent six years working on "learning and training programs" for the Boeing CompanyBoeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
, which has a helicopter plant at the edge of Weldon's district. A spokesman for Weldon said that he did not help his daughter get the job at Boeing, which is a frequent beneficiary of his work in Washington and one of his top campaign donors.
In September 2002, Karen Weldon, then 28 years old, and Charles P. Sexton Jr., about 40 years her senior, started a partnership, Solutions North America (SNA), which she said was "more of a business consultancy than a lobbying firm". Sexton is a political power broker in Weldon's district and the former owner of a security guard company, which he sold in 2003 for $6 million.
In February 2004, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
reported that all three known clients of SNA had ties to Curt Weldon:
- Itera International Energy CorporationIteraITERA International Group of Companies is a Russia-based private-owned corporate group with headquarters in Moscow. Its core business primarily focuses on gas and gas processing...
, a Russian company, was Solutions' first client. In May 2002, Curt Weldon had led a congressional delegation to Russia and visited Itera. At the beginning of September, Itera paid the expenses for a trip he made to New York City. The next week, Itera told Karen Weldon it would sign a contract with SNA. On September 24, Curt Weldon co-hosted an event at the Library of Congress honoring Itera's chairman. On September 26, Weldon gave a floor speech praising Itera. On September 30, SNA received a $500,000 annual contract with Itera, with $170,000 up front. In November, Itera paid for Karen to join her father on a trip to Eastern Europe and Russia. In January 2003, Itera opened U.S. offices in Jacksonville, Florida, paying for Rep. Weldon to attend the opening.
- Karen Weldon said she found her second client, Saratov Aviation, a Russian aerospace manufacturer, in December 2002, through a family friend, who had worked with her father to foster U.S.-Russian business ties. In January 2003 Curt and Karen Weldon visited Saratov's plant in Russia. After the trip, Saratov signed a contract to pay SNA for $20,000 per month plus a 10% commission, both dependent on new business generated. After the trip, Weldon contacted the U.S. Naval Air Systems CommandNaval Air Systems CommandThe Naval Air Systems Command provides material support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. NAVAIR was established in 1966 as the successor to the Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons . Current Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, is Vice Adm. David Architzel since May...
(Navair) concerning Saratov's products. In September, Navair and Saratov signed a nonbinding letter of intent that called for Navair to seek funding to develop the Saratov's technology. In November the Saratov contract was rewritten to remove the commission (illegal for federal contractors) and to deliver payment to Solutions Worldwide Inc., another Karen Weldon-Charles Sexton venture. Saratov began paying the new firm $20,000 a month in December 2003.
- Dragomir and Bogoljub KaricBogoljub KaricBogoljub Karić ) is a businessman and politician from Serbia.- Early life :Bogoljub Karić was born on January 17, 1954 in Peć, Kosovo, Serbia, FPR Yugoslavia, to Janićije Karić and Danica Kuzmanović. He earned a degree in Geography from Prirodno-matematički fakultet in Priština and his Master's...
, associates of Slobodan MilosevicSlobodan MiloševićSlobodan Milošević was President of Serbia and Yugoslavia. He served as the President of Socialist Republic of Serbia and Republic of Serbia from 1989 until 1997 in three terms and as President of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia from 1997 to 2000...
, paid $240,000 to SNA in March 2003. Weldon had championed the efforts of the two to obtain U.S. visas from the State Department, which had refused them entry. After getting the contract, SNA paid for Weldon's chief of staff Michael J. Conallen Jr. to take a "fact-finding" trip to Serbia in November 2003. Curt Weldon approved the trip, although House ethics rules bar staff from taking official trips paid for by lobbyists or registered agents of foreign companies, the two SNA partners are registered with the Justice Department as foreign agents. Conallen said he reimbursed SNA with his own money in February 2004 after The Times raised questions about the trip.
- Intelligence officials have warned Weldon that the Karics are too close to Milosevic, who was accused of leading the "ethnic cleansing" in the former Yugoslav federation. But Weldon has praised the Karics, who own a vast empire of banking, telecommunication and other firms, as model business leaders and humanitarians. He has portrayed them as victims of faulty intelligence reports and, in January 2004, asked the CIA to sit down with them and sort things out.
Kimberly Weldon
Weldon has used his position as a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee to attract a range of defense companies to southeastern Pennsylvania. One such firm is AgustaWestlandAgustaWestland
AgustaWestland is an Anglo-Italian helicopter design and manufacturing company. It was formed in July 2000 when Finmeccanica S.p.A. and GKN plc agreed to merge their respective helicopter subsidiaries to form AgustaWestland with Finmeccanica and GKN each holding a 50% share.AgustaWestland is now a...
, a subsidiary of the Italian defense firm Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
. In January 2005, AgustaWestland won a $1.7 billion contract to build the new presidential helicopter Marine One
Marine One
Marine One is the call sign of any United States Marine Corps aircraft carrying the President of the United States. It usually denotes a helicopter operated by the HMX-1 "Nighthawks" squadron, either the large VH-3D Sea King or the newer, smaller VH-60N "WhiteHawk", both due to be replaced by the...
. Weldon was a key supporter in the win for the firm, which was competing with U.S. manufacturer Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation.
In the fall of 2005, Agusta Westland hired Weldon's daughter Kimberly, working in the public relations office. She reportedly has a formal agreement with the company that prohibits her from lobbying Congress or contacting her father or his office on the company's behalf.
On October 27, 2006, McClatchy Newspapers
The McClatchy Company
The McClatchy Company is a publicly traded American publishing company based in Sacramento, California. It operates 30 daily newspapers in 15 states and has an average weekday circulation of 2.2 million and Sunday circulation of 2.8 million...
reported that Kimberly had also worked part time in 2003 for one of sister Karen's lobbying clients, a foundation run by the Karic family; Weldon has tried unsuccessfully to help Dragomir and Bogoljub Karic obtain U.S. visas.
Andrew Weldon
According to the SS Racing Website, "22-Year-Old Andrew Weldon is a budding race car driver from Aston Township, PennsylvaniaAston Township, Pennsylvania
Aston Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. As one of the first townships incorporated in Pennsylvania, the present-day boundaries of Aston were drawn in 1945 when the northwestern portion of the township, seceded from the township over a proposed tax hike, and...
. He signed to a driver’s developmental contract with SS Racing in late 2005 for the 2006 season." As noted in a September 21, 2006, article in The Delaware County Daily Times, citing the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) report on Weldon, "The CREW report compiles news reports in which Weldon, a member of the House since 1987, is described as using his powerful congressional position to help his daughters, Kim and Karen, son Andrew, longtime friend Cecelia 'CeCe' Grimes and close political associate Charles Sexton Jr."
The article then goes on to cite a Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine
Harper's Magazine is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts, with a generally left-wing perspective. It is the second-oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. . The current editor is Ellen Rosenbush, who replaced Roger Hodge in January 2010...
report, noting, "(Harper's) reported in July that Andrew Weldon, a racecar driver, is sponsored by Schaffer Motorsports, owned by a senior Boeing
Boeing
The Boeing Company is an American multinational aerospace and defense corporation, founded in 1916 by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Boeing Corporate headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois since 2001...
Co. employee. Boeing is Weldon’s top campaign contributor." Indeed, a July 25, 2006, article on the Harper's website details the Schaffer/Boeing/Andrew Weldon connection: "Schaffer Motorsports...is owned by Tom Schaffer, a senior employee at Boeing. One of the sponsors of Schaffer Motorsports is Boeing Helicopters Credit Union, a wholly separate entity from The Boeing Company, whose logo appears on the racecar Andrew Weldon drives. The CREW report incorrectly states, "The relationship between Mr. Schaffer and Rep. Weldon is a long one." In fact, Rep. Weldon first met Mr. Schaffer during Andrew's first, self-funded and managed racing season at Bridgeport Speedway.
Cecilia "Cece" Grimes
In January 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Cecilia Grimes, 40, who calls herself a longtime family friend of Weldon, was the senior partner in a two-person lobbying firm located in Media, PennsylvaniaMedia, Pennsylvania
The borough of Media is the county seat of Delaware County, Pennsylvania and is located west of Philadelphia. Media was incorporated in 1850 at the same time that it was named the county seat. The population was 5,533 at the 2000 census. Its school district is the Rose Tree Media School District...
, where she is realtor. The lobbying firm has clients from as far away as California whose with business involves one or both of the House committees that Weldon is a member of.
Grimes told the Times she has known Weldon for about 15 years. "I coached one of his kids in junior high school", she said, declining to elaborate. In 2000, she was his real estate agent in the purchase of a house in Pennsylvania. She has been lobbying since March 2003, when she opened a firm called CC Nexus LLC — now incorporated as Grimes and Young. Grimes' partner is Cynthia Young, 28, a lawyer who lives two houses from Weldon. Her husband, Robert J. Young, worked as a paid staff aide for four months on Weldon's 2004 re-election campaign. He is the son of U.S. Representative Bill Young
Bill Young
Charles William "Bill" Young is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 1971. He is a member of the Republican Party, and is currently the longest-serving Republican member of Congress...
(R-FL).
Grimes has signed up at least eight corporate clients, four of which are located in Weldon's district. The companies are mostly small firms seeking federal defense and domestic security funding. Among the most recent clients signed by Grimes and Young is Oto Melara, a subsidiary of Italian defense company Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica
Finmeccanica S.p.A. is an Italian conglomerate. Finmeccanica is the second largest industrial group and the largest of the hi-tech industrial groups based in Italy. It works in the fields of defence, aerospace, security, automation, transport and energy...
, the firm that employs Kim Weldon. On June 1, 2005, the company agreed to pay Grimes $20,000 annually. Grimes was put in touch with Oto Melara by Weldon’s chief of staff, Russ Caso. But, Grimes said in an interview, her employment was not because of Weldon. "That's ridiculous", she said.
Another client is Advanced Ceramics Research Inc., a Tucson, Arizona
Tucson, Arizona
Tucson is a city in and the county seat of Pima County, Arizona, United States. The city is located 118 miles southeast of Phoenix and 60 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border. The 2010 United States Census puts the city's population at 520,116 with a metropolitan area population at 1,020,200...
firm. Grimes lobbied about a dozen members of Congress, including Weldon, for a $3 million contract in 2005, which became the firm's first funding from a defense appropriations bill. The firm has since won a combined $43.5 million in Navy contracts and congressional funding. More than $5 million came from the Naval Air Systems Command
Naval Air Systems Command
The Naval Air Systems Command provides material support for aircraft and airborne weapon systems for the United States Navy. NAVAIR was established in 1966 as the successor to the Navy's Bureau of Naval Weapons . Current Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, is Vice Adm. David Architzel since May...
, an agency overseen by Weldon's subcommittee.
Grimes said that despite a lack of Washington experience, she has skills for lobbying. "It's all about networking and follow-up", she said. "My clients like my company, and that has nothing to do with Curt."
Stefanie Reiser
Stefanie Reiser (sometimes spelled "Stephanie Reiser") worked from January 2000 to late 2005 for Weldon, handling fund-raising duties for Weldon’s campaign committee and for his political action committee, Committee for a United Republican Team (CURT PAC). She earned $54,659 as a fundraiser for Weldon’s campaign committee, and was paid at least $90,000 by CURT PAC for fundraising and reimbursements for travel, lodging and office supplies.Prior to working for Weldon, Reiser was a lobbyist for Chambers Associates and served as former California Governor Pete Wilson
Pete Wilson
Peter Barton "Pete" Wilson is an American politician from California. Wilson, a Republican, served as the 36th Governor of California , the culmination of more than three decades in the public arena that included eight years as a United States Senator , eleven years as Mayor of San Diego and...
’s representative in Washington. She registered as a lobbyist for Novavax, a company seeking federal funding for a vaccine, on November 13, 2001; the company paid her $20,000. On December 6, 2001, Weldon and three other members of Congress held a briefing in which they and researchers from Novavax spoke of the need for a vaccine similar to the one Novavax was working on. On December 24, 2001, Reiser donated $250 to Curt PAC, describing herself as "Self-employed/political fundraiser".
Use of campaign funds
Between 1998 and 2006, Weldon spent about $80,000 of campaign treasury funds on restaurant meals. During the same period, Weldon also spent about $30,000 of campaign funds on hotels. He also spent $1,698 for a personal computer, delivered to his home; $4,618 for landscaping, paid to a company owned by a campaign contributor; and $13,000 in unitemized personal reimbursements during that period.Congressional ethics rules say that campaign funds should be used for "bona fide campaign or political purposes". Weldon's attorney, William B. Canfield, said that ethics rules are "entirely amorphous", and that "you may think it's a big loophole, but he's allowed to spend money that way."
Conviction of former aide
In December 2007, a former Weldon aide pleaded guilty for failing to report $19,000 in income that his wife made for doing work for a nonprofit company tied to Weldon. The ex-staffer, Russell James Caso, Jr., is reportedly cooperating with federal investigators in their probe of Weldon.Post-Congressional career
After his election defeat in November 2006, Weldon joined Defense Solutions, headquartered in Exton, PennsylvaniaExton, Pennsylvania
Exton is a census-designated place in West Whiteland Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its population was 4,842 at the 2010 census. The Exton Square Mall is located within Exton along with several other shopping centers, making Exton the major shopping district in Chester...
, as the company's chief strategic officer.
Additionally, Weldon joined the advisory board of Novo Energies Corporation, an alternative energy company converting used tires and plastic into energy.
External links
- Curt Weldon - official campaign website (archived)
- Congressman Curt Weldon official Congressional website (archived)
- "The Troublemaker," by Shane Harris National JournalNational JournalNational Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
, September 2006 (cover story on Weldon's Iran/Iraq/911 theories) - "Curt Weldon's Deep Throat," by Laura Rozen, The American ProspectThe American ProspectThe American Prospect is a monthly American political magazine dedicated to American liberalism. Based in Washington, DC, The American Prospect is a journal "of liberal ideas, committed to a just society, an enriched democracy, and effective liberal politics" which focuses on United States politics...
, June 10, 2006. - "Curt Weldon's attempt to tie Iran to nuclear arms plot," by Larisa AlexandrovnaLarisa AlexandrovnaLarisa Alexandrovna is a journalist, essayist, and poet. She has served as the Managing Editor of Investigative News of The Raw Story for the last three years, and contributes opinion and columns to online publications such as Alternet. She is also an American blogger for the Huffington Post and...
, Raw Story, January 11, 2006. - Campaign for America's Future — website questioning Weldon's campaign contributions from drug and insurance industries
- PA-7 Watch: Blogging the 2006 PA-7 Congressional race between Joe Sestak and Curt Weldon with a pro-Sestak viewpoint while keeping watch on the incumbent Curt Weldon
- Blogger questions Weldon's actions I Live In Delaware County
- "Weldon calls for federal aid to help firefighters," Delco Times
- "Weldon pushes plan asking kids to dime out drug dealers," Delco Times
- "Weldon touts clout of regional concept," Delco Times
- "Weldon announces Rotorcraft center, could bring 400 jobs to Delco," Delco Times
- "Weldon’s crusade has eye on the future," Delco Times
- "Weldon departs for flood ravaged areas," Delco Times
- "Weldon and Santorum deliver $5.4M in Upper Darby," Delco Times
- "Weldon backed in Pentagon showdown," Delco Times
- "Lawmaker's Files sought by grand jury," LA Times