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The Weldon Watch
The wheels of justice turn slowly.
Don’t believe me? Just ask Curt Weldon.
It was just about two years ago when Weldon found himself in a heated battle for his 7th District Congressional seat, the one he’d held for 20 years.
Unlike many of his previous races, in which the powerful Weldon and the local GOP swatted away what all too often amounted to token opposition from Delco Democrats, this time he found himself in a heated battle against the retired Navy admiral, Joe Sestak.
Still, Weldon’s numbers had him ahead by as many as 7 points with a couple weeks in the campaign. Of course Sestak’s numbers said something else.
Then the thunderbolt struck. The offices of Weldon’s daughter and one of his close allies, former Springfield GOP boss Charlie Sexton, were raided by the feds.
The belief is that they were looking for evidence in a probe of whether Weldon used his ties in D.C. and around the globe to direct business to his daughter’s business.
The numbers shifted. Weldon lost the seat he had held for two decades.
That was two years ago. Sestak is now running for re-election against Concord attorney Craig Williams.
And Weldon? He’s moved on, now working for a defense firm in Exton, Chester County.
But no charges have been filed in the investigation. None against Weldon; none against his daughter; none against Sexton.
The feds say only that the investigation is ongoing. Two people close to Weldon, his former chief of staff Russ Caso, as well as local lobbyist and real estate agent Cecilia Grimes have entered pleas tied to the probe.
Caso’s plea stems from not reporting some income made by his wife, who worked for a firm with ties to Weldon. Grimes’ plea involved not things directly tied to the probe, but rather the fact that she destroyed some evidence after she was initially interviewed by the FBI. Both are believed to be cooperating with the federal investigation.
In the meantime, those wheels of justice continue to churn.
At some point the government should show its hand. Weldon and those close to him have lived under this cloud for two years now. Many believe it cost him the election.
If the feds have something on him, it’s time to lay it on the table. If not, it’s time to say that as well, and let Weldon and others get on with their life.
It won’t change what happened, but it’s time this case was brought to a conclusion. One way or the other.
Don’t believe me? Just ask Curt Weldon.
It was just about two years ago when Weldon found himself in a heated battle for his 7th District Congressional seat, the one he’d held for 20 years.
Unlike many of his previous races, in which the powerful Weldon and the local GOP swatted away what all too often amounted to token opposition from Delco Democrats, this time he found himself in a heated battle against the retired Navy admiral, Joe Sestak.
Still, Weldon’s numbers had him ahead by as many as 7 points with a couple weeks in the campaign. Of course Sestak’s numbers said something else.
Then the thunderbolt struck. The offices of Weldon’s daughter and one of his close allies, former Springfield GOP boss Charlie Sexton, were raided by the feds.
The belief is that they were looking for evidence in a probe of whether Weldon used his ties in D.C. and around the globe to direct business to his daughter’s business.
The numbers shifted. Weldon lost the seat he had held for two decades.
That was two years ago. Sestak is now running for re-election against Concord attorney Craig Williams.
And Weldon? He’s moved on, now working for a defense firm in Exton, Chester County.
But no charges have been filed in the investigation. None against Weldon; none against his daughter; none against Sexton.
The feds say only that the investigation is ongoing. Two people close to Weldon, his former chief of staff Russ Caso, as well as local lobbyist and real estate agent Cecilia Grimes have entered pleas tied to the probe.
Caso’s plea stems from not reporting some income made by his wife, who worked for a firm with ties to Weldon. Grimes’ plea involved not things directly tied to the probe, but rather the fact that she destroyed some evidence after she was initially interviewed by the FBI. Both are believed to be cooperating with the federal investigation.
In the meantime, those wheels of justice continue to churn.
At some point the government should show its hand. Weldon and those close to him have lived under this cloud for two years now. Many believe it cost him the election.
If the feds have something on him, it’s time to lay it on the table. If not, it’s time to say that as well, and let Weldon and others get on with their life.
It won’t change what happened, but it’s time this case was brought to a conclusion. One way or the other.
posted by Heron's Nest at
8:06 AM
3 Comments:
You are kidding, right? Speed up the process? Let's get this moving? Time to put it to rest or make it go away. That is basically what you are sayin. Again, you are kidding, right?
What if the Feds have a bigger case and are investigating many other people?
What if the evidence has pointed the Feds in many directions and weldon is involved in a lot more than what you think?
How can you say hurry in in one case and slow down in so many others?
Hypocritical? I think so. Could it be that you and your satff endorsed Weldon many many times in the past? I think so.
Phil,
I could not agree more. When first I heard you were doing a retrospective on Weldon, i feared that this was the first in a littany of stories the Daily Times would do on the Weldon investigation leading into the 2008 election -- essentially doing to Craig Williams (through no connection or fault of his own -- just guilt by party label) what the FBI did to Weldon two years ago.
But all in all, your story was tastefully done. I just hope it is now done.
I hope the Daily Times will show respectful and restrained coverage of this issue -- especially leading up to the 2 year anniversay of the FBI raid in October. In my view, this investigation already impacted one election -- there is no reason it should impact another, especially when the candidates have no connection or ties to Weldon.
You can't pick and choose who you want to go after as a paper and who you don't. A story is a story. The Daily Times is afraid of Curt Weldon for some reason. He is under investigation by the FEDS for god sake. Two of his people are cooperating with the FBI. It is a matter of time. I bet the Daily Times puts Weldon on the cover of the paper when he is arressted but puts some whimpy headline. "Phil" picks and chooses who he goes after, and lets some of the hook, i.e. Moran, Truscello, Weldon, etc. and kills others.
These are some of the reasons the Daily times is a joke of a paper.
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