Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

The GOP is ticked.
Aaaaawww, I'm just so upset, aren't you? But that doesn't keep Karl
Rove from spreading his election
year manure.

I don't know about you, but when my representative starts making deals with
friends with ties to Slobodan Milosevic
I start wondering. Not exactly a local tie in, if you catch my drift.

In fact, Weldon did inadvertently make one good point in crying foul at the timing: many of the facts of the case have been in plain sight for over two years, since The Los Angeles Times reported them: Weldon has brought his daughter so deeply into his official activities that they sometimes appear to be working in tandem. For example: After a Russian aerospace manufacturer [Saratov] hired Karen Weldon's firm for $20,000 a month plus 10% of any new business it generated, Rep. Weldon pitched the company's saucer-shaped drone to the U.S. Navy, which signed a letter of intent to invest in the technology. And Weldon, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees $60 billion in military acquisitions, has been working to get funding for the project, Navy officials say… The congressman helped round up 30 congressional colleagues for a dinner at the Library of Congress to honor the chairman of a Russian natural gas company, Itera International Energy Corp., that had just agreed to pay his daughter's firm $500,000 a year to “create good public relations.” Records show Solutions North America helped arrange the privately funded affair for the company… Karen Weldon's firm paid for her father's chief of staff to take a “fact-finding” trip to Serbia, where he met with U.S. Embassy officials about the Karics' visa problems. The congressman approved the arrangement, travel records show. House ethics rules bar members or staff from taking official trips paid for by lobbyists or registered agents of foreign companies … Curt's New Hurt What new information prompted the FBI to activate its investigation into Curt Weldon and his daughter this spring? And from whom did it come? By Laura Rozen

But you don't have to look far to see Crazy Curt's cozy family deals should
have been investigated a loooong time ago. The following research was
sent to me and I think it's worth offering for those skeptics who think the
heat on Weldon is unwarranted. It's a long time coming, if you ask me.

KAREN WELDON Karen Weldon Co-Owns Lobbying Firm “Solutions North America.” Daughter Karen Weldon is a 50-50 partner in a lobbying firm called “Solutions North America.” The Los Angeles Times writes, “Despite a lack of professional credentials, she had one notable asset — her father, U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon.” Karen's partner is Charles Sexton, former finance chairman of Curt Weldon's campaigns. [Los Angeles Times, 2/20/04] Weldon Has “Gone to Bat” For Karen's Clients. Rep. Weldon “has gone to bat” for at least three of Karen Weldon's clients: Russian military contractor Saratov Aviation, Russian energy company Itera International Energy Corp, and The Karic Group, a Serbian firm with ties to Slobodan Milosevic. The contracts the three companies signed with Karen's firm are worth almost $1 million a year. [Los Angeles Times, 2/20/04] · Saratov: Rep. Weldon pitched Saratov's saucer-shaped drone to the U.S. Navy, which signed a letter of intent to invest in the technology. Weldon, who chairs a subcommittee that oversees $60 billion in military acquisitions, worked to get funding for the project, Navy officials say. Saratov hired Karen Weldon's firm for $20,000 a month plus 10% of any new business it generated. [Los Angeles Times, 2/20/04] · Itera: Rep. Weldon organized a dinner with 30 congressional colleagues to honor Itera's chairman. Itera had just agreed to a $500,000 a year contract with Karen's firm. Itera sent e-mails to Karen Weldon indicating that the final details of their proposed $500,000 contract with Itera would be ironed out at the dinner. [Los Angeles Times, 2/20/04; Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/5/04] · The Karic Group: Karen's firm, Solutions North America, paid for a 2003 “fact finding” trip to Serbia for Weldon's Chief of Staff where he met with U.S. Embassy officials about visa problems being had by owners of The Karic Group, a Karen Weldon client. House ethics rules bar members or staff from taking official trips paid for by lobbyists or registered agents of foreign companies. The chief of staff, Michael J. Conallen Jr., said he reimbursed Solutions with his own money [Los Angeles Times, 2/20/04] Ethics Committee Conducted an Investigation Into Curt Weldon's Involvement with Karen's Clients. In 2004, the House Ethics Committee conducted an informal investigation into Weldon's involvement with Karen Weldon's clients. The inquiry remains unfinished [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/5/04; Los Angeles Times, 1/28/06] Weldon Denies All Wrongdoing. Weldon said that his daughter, Karen Weldon, won the contracts because of her own “hard work, determination and abilities.” Weldon said, “At no time, have I ever suggested, encouraged, or demanded that anyone enter into a contractual relationship with Solutions North America.” [Associated Press, 2/21/04] ANDREW WELDON Weldon's Son is a Racecar Driver Sponsored by Shaffer Motorsports. Curt Weldon's 22 year old son, Andrew, is a race car driver who is sponsored by Shaffer Motorsports. Shaffer Motorsports is in turn sponsored by Boeing Helicopters Credit Union, whose logo appears on Andrew Weldon's car. [http://www.shaffermotorsports.com/new_page_2.htm ; Harpers, 7/25/06] Shaffer Motorsports is Owned by a Senior Boeing Employee. Shaffer Motorsports is owned by Tom Shaffer. Shaffer has a senior position in the Composite Fabrication Department for Boeing's controversial V-22 Osprey, at Boeing's Ridley Park, Pennsylvania—just outside Weldon's district. [Harpers, 7/25/06] · Weldon Has Been Congress' Most Vocal Supporter of the V-22 Project. Weldon has been Congress' most vocal supporter of the Osprey for years. The Osprey, a hybrid aircraft that takes off like a helicopter and flies like a plane, has been plagued with problems. Between 1989 and 2002, dozens of marines were killed in non-combat crashes of the experimental aircraft. In the 1st Bush Administration, then Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney tried multiple times to kill the Osprey and each time was met with congressional resistance. According to the Los Angeles Times, “Leading the charge was Rep. Curt Weldon, a Republican from the Philadelphia suburbs and a member of the Armed Services Committee.” Weldon even formed a congressional coalition, the Tiltrotor Technology Coalition, to fight any attempt to eliminate the Osprey, despite its problems. Weldon successfully fought off Cheney's attempts. Almost a decade later, after a 2000 crash that killed another 4 marines, and 2001 evidence that Pentagon officials had falsified readiness records pertaining to the Osprey, Weldon came to the project's defense again. [Los Angeles Times, 12/18/02; Harpers, 7/25/06] · Boeing is Weldon's Top All Time Contributor. Boeing is Weldon's top all time contributor to his campaigns, having donated $62,050 since 1989. [www.opensecrets.org] · Shaffer Greeted Bush During Visit to Boeing Plant Set up by Weldon. In 2004, Bush visited the Ridley Park Boeing plant. Shaffer was the President's “Freedom Corps greeter” at the airport. Bush honored Shaffer and Shaffer Motorsports for setting up the “Race Against Drugs” and other substance abuse awareness programs. Weldon set up Bush's visit to the plant, though it is not known whether he arranged for Bush to meet Shaffer. In his speech at the plant, Bush said, “I appreciate my friend, Curt Weldon… I want to thank Curt for setting up this visit. I appreciate his leadership and his friendship.” [http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040817-5.html ; http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040817-6.html] KIM WELDON Daughter Kim Works for Helicopter Manufacturer. Weldon's daughter Kim works for Augusta Westland, the helicopter division of an Italian firm, Finmeccanica. [Philadelphia Daily News, 4/21/06] · Weldon Helps Daughter's Company Land “Long-shot” Marine One Contract. In 2006, Weldon helped Augusta Westland win a “long-shot bid” to build a new presidential helicopter, a contract worth $1.6 billion. [Harpers, 4/20/06] · Since 2005, Augusta-Westland Employees Have Donated Over $11,000 to Weldon. Seven donors associated with Augusta have given Weldon $11,200 since last year. [Philadelphia Inquirer, 5/8/06] Weldon Helped Clients of Lobbyists Close to Him. Lobbyist Cecelia Grimes, who is close to Weldon personally, has little experience lobbying. But her clients received government contracts and were invited to testify before Congress by Weldon. Weldon went to bat for products her clients produced. Lobbyist Stephanie Reiser was a fundraiser for Curt Weldon and he asked member of Congress to attend a briefing on product being advanced by one of Reiser's clients. While Weldon said he was unaware of her lobbying, Reiser said he was. [Los Angeles Times, 1/28/06; Delaware County Times, 2/27/06] Delaware County Times Editorialized On Weldon's Ethics. In an editorial entitled “Weldon Should Answer Some Questions,” the Delaware County Times said that with respect to Weldon's close ties to Reiser and her client that, “the facts, as they are, stink to high heaven.” The paper wrote, “[E]thical watchdogs say the situation Reiser had with Weldon – PAC or campaign fund-raisers doubling as lobbyists – is wrong because it gives them an inside track with lawmakers. Proposals to ban that kind of relationship are floating around now on Capitol Hill. It's an idea worth pursuing. Perhaps Weldon will someday let his constituents know where he stands on the issue – directly, in his own words, and not hiding behind a statement issued by one of his employees.” [Delaware County Times, 3/2/06]

Oh, and to answer reader ironranger's question in the comments, yes, that's what Crazy Curt said.

Chutzpah watch: a contact in Weldon's district writes, “BTW, Weldon campaign is claiming today that the raids are firing up their base.” – Laura Rozen