by Paul Kiel
The Justice Department is investigating "what officials suspect are efforts by Russian-backed firms to gain influence or gather information in Washington," the Wall Street Journal reports ($) today.
Credit: AP Photo/Joseph Kaczmarek
The piece reveals a number of new details about the investigation of ex-Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA), whose former aide pleaded guilty to accepting corrupt payments from a Russian non-profit. But there is nothing else in the piece about this broader probe or who else might be of interest to investigators. One possibility involves lobbyist Jack Abramoff's longterm dealings with Russian oil company executives, who also had ties to Weldon.
Not that the Weldon case isn't sensational enough on its own. The Journal reports Russell Caso, Weldon's former aide, accepted payments via his wife from the International Exchange Group, a Russian arms-control group. The group, which employed the Russian army's current chief of staff and the head of the Federal Security Service (the successor of the KGB), paid his wife $19,000 for $1,500 worth of editing work, according to Caso's plea. Weldon and Caso energetically boosted the group's cause, mainly obtaining U.S. money for non-proliferation programs.
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