Did Weldon Break Rules to Hide News of Probe?Looks like we may have gotten one last no-no from departing congressman Curt Weldon (R-PA): breaking a House rule to hide news of his investigation in a failing effort to win his election.
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 this morning.
This news means a couple things: First, Weldon appears to have broken the rules when he found them inconvenient.
It also means that leaks or no leaks, news of the FBI’s investigation into Weldon should have come out before the election, so Weldon’s concerns about loose lips at the bureau seem misplaced. The Congressional Record is read by many reporters — particularly its items about subpoenas being issued to lawmakers. It would have been on the wires in a heartbeat.
Now, the LATimes notes that they can’t confirm when Weldon received the subpoena. But it’s hard to imagine a grand jury issuing such a writ and then waiting weeks to deliver it.
