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AP: Lobbyist friend of Curt Weldon charged:
More from Ken Silverstein:A Pennsylvania-based lobbyist has been charged with destroying evidence related to an FBI investigation into former Congressman Curt Weldon.
According to court documents, Cecilia Grimes received grand jury subpoenas for documents related to Weldon and quickly threw out the documents. FBI agents found the documents in her garbage cans. Authorities say she also threw out her Blackberry at a fast-food restaurant to keep the FBI from retrieving her e-mail.
In the documents, Weldon is identified only as "Representative A." The documents filed Tuesday are known as a criminal information and are typically filed as part of a plea deal.
Silverstein says it's likely Grimes will plea on such charges.I’ve spoken to multiple sources familiar with the Weldon investigation and have been told that investigators were closely scrutinizing Grimes’s relationship with the former congressman. Sources have also told me that Weldon’s relationship with Grimes went well beyond mere friendship. If that is the case, any role Weldon might have played in assisting her business prospects as a lobbyist would be even more troubling. I have also been told that Grimes traveled to London in January 2004 when Weldon went there to meet with Saif Al-Islam Gaddafi, the son of Libyan president Moammar Gaddafi. (Incidentally, Weldon’s consulting firm is conducting Libyan-related business.) Weldon’s trip was paid for by a firm called SRA International.
Since last Thursday I have sought comment from Weldon’s attorney, William Winning, and from Cecelia Grimes, about the latter’s relationship with Weldon and about whether she was in London with him in 2004. Neither have replied to requests by phone or email. If I do hear back, I will immediately update this story.