Did Abramoff finger Curt Weldon and his daughter?
The notion that the FBI raided Curt Weldon’s daughter’s house before the elections as a way of helping the Democrats doesn’t pass the giggle test. (Though that didn’t keep CNN from treating it seriously.)
Still, “Why now?” does seem to be a reasonable question.
Laura at War and Piece has a reasonable answer: Abramoff. Since the judge ran out of patience and has scheduled Abramoff’s going-away party for November 15, he has to be talking very fast now to build up a basis for a later motion to reduce sentence. Maybe one of the names he mentioned was Weldon’s.
Hat tip: Progressive Blog Digest
Author: Mark Kleiman
Professor of Public Policy at the NYU Marron Institute for Urban Management and editor of the Journal of Drug Policy Analysis. Teaches about the methods of policy analysis about drug abuse control and crime control policy, working out the implications of two principles: that swift and certain sanctions don't have to be severe to be effective, and that well-designed threats usually don't have to be carried out.
Books:
Drugs and Drug Policy: What Everyone Needs to Know (with Jonathan Caulkins and Angela Hawken)
When Brute Force Fails: How to Have Less Crime and Less Punishment (Princeton, 2009; named one of the "books of the year" by The Economist
Against Excess: Drug Policy for Results (Basic, 1993)
Marijuana: Costs of Abuse, Costs of Control (Greenwood, 1989)
UCLA Homepage
Curriculum Vitae
Contact: Markarkleiman-at-gmail.com
View all posts by Mark Kleiman
Strange how these investigations of Republicans in Congress happen so often during even-numbered years, when they're running for reelection. It just can't be a coincidence.