The Larry Kane Report

SINCE THIS REPORT FIRST APPEARED, I HAVE HAD CALLS FROM POLITICAL SOURCES ON BOTH SIDES OF THE AISLE WHO CLAIM THAT THERE IS MORE TO COME ON THIS STORY. THEY ASSUME THAT THE SOURCE OF THE LEAKS WILL BE MADE APPARENT. I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS MEANS, BUT THE AMOUNT OF PHONE CALLS AND THE INTRIGUING CONVERSATIONS LEAD ME TO BELIEVE THAT MORE NEWS IS ABOUT TO BREAK.

WHERE THIS STORY IS GOING IS A MYSTERY, BUT THERE IS A LOT OF BUZZ THAT SOME REPUBLICAN LEADERS IN WASHINGTON WERE NOT UNHAPPY WITH THE LEAKS. AGAIN, I DON’T KNOW EXACTLY WHAT THIS MEANS. BUT I DO KNOW THAT THE LOCAL POLITICAL COMMUNITY IS OVERFLOWING WITH RUMORS AND THEORIES.

THE FOLLOWING IS MY ORIGINAL REPORT FROM SOURCES:
The strange case of the suddenly exposed investigation of events surrounding Pa. Congressman Curt Weldon could wind up in a political backlash in what is turning out to be a very close election.

FBI agents siezed records at locations in Pennsylvania and Florida involving business dealings between Weldon’s daughter and his close friend. Although there is no confirmation of what this investigation is about, news reports claim that investigators want to know if the 10 term Congressman used his influence to secure lucrative contracts for his daughter and a close friend.

Terry Madonna, the respected pollster tells me, “There’s an outside chance that this leak could work in reverse and be viewed as an unfair targeting of a candidate in the middle of an election cycle. While this all could hurt the candidate, it might help him.”

You may remember that in the 2003 Mayors Race in Philadelphia, discovery of a wiretap bug in the Mayor’s office propelled John Street to a second term victory over Republican Sam Katz. The Democratic vote was energized by a view that the Republican controlled Justice Department was targeting Street during an election cycle. As the ensuing investigation showed, Street was not the target. Rather, it was people peddling influence in and around his administration.

In this case, doubters speculate that the Justice Department would never try to hurt a Republican Congressman during a tough election drive. But that is not the way it works. The newspaper leaks had to come from reliable sources. After all, the leaks forced the FBI to scramble to collect evidence. So the investigation is apparently for real.

The issue that some voters will face is whether investigators could have waited till after the election to do their thing. An investigation doesn’t neccesarily mean an indictment. But leaks of such an investigation might stir some voters to think that somebody is playing with the law in the middle of an election.

And that could cause an angry backlash.