Smear campaign against 911 politician

[karlos]

Link


ok you might remember this, it is a Republican senator who wanted an investigation into 911.
But what we may not have known is after this started, he was investigated by the FBI and the victim of a huge smear campaign.

Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA) was cited by the House ethics committee for improperly accepting $23,000 worth of travel last summer, but has so far failed to repay that amount, according to a new statement from the panel.

The statement, released today, contradicts earlier claims by Weldon's lawyer that the committee had "apparently" cleared the congressman of wrongdoing in the affair.

In October, McClatchy Newspapers reported Weldon's personal attorney William Canfield told a report that the ethics committee had "apparently dismissed the matter because he's heard nothing in more than two years."

Yet the statement from the committee's chairman, Rep. Doc Hastings (R-WA) and ranking member Howard Berman (D-CA), states, "We therefore concluded in the middle of this year [sic], and advised Representative Weldon, that he was required to repay to the donors certain expenses of that trip, which exceeded $23,000."

According to the statement, Weldon has yet to show he has repaid the costs of the trip, which took him to Belgrade.

The jaunt, which Weldon took with his daughter Karen, was partially arranged by two Serbian businessmen with ties to former dictator Slobodan Milosevic. Karen later became a lobbyist for a foundation run by the two men, who are brothers, and Weldon attempted to convince the State Department to issue visas for the duo.

At least four other people, including Weldon's wife, accompanied the former congressman and his daughter. In addition to Belgrade, the group stopped in Moscow and Vienna, Austria, according to Weldon's lawyer.

The trip is now the subject of a federal investigation. Weldon lost his re-election bid in November to Democrat Joe Sestak. Shortly after news of the investigation broke in October, the FBI raided daughter Karen's Pennsylvania home.

He lost the election due to this smear campaign.

[karlos]

We learned in October that Weldon was under federal investigation, via leaks to the press. A few weeks later, Weldon lost his election to Democrat Joe Sestak, due at least in part to news of the investigation.

Weldon has blamed the investigation on a liberal conspiracy, and charged that the FBI -- who, he says, leaked news of the investigation to throw his election -- is "out of control."

Funny thing: it turns out that prior to the election, a grand jury issued a subpoena to then-Rep. Weldon for information relating to the FBI's investigation. House rules dictate that all such subpoenas are to be reported publicly in the Congressional Record -- yet Weldon's was never reported, according to the LATimes