[5] Scoles entered the race in the last 90 days of the campaign, when the original Democratic candidate, Greg Philips, was called up for Reserve duty to support the Iraq War.

"[7] On October 26, 2006, American Prospect magazine reported that e-mails recently had been forwarded to the Justice Department that describe alleged efforts by official members of Weldon's staff to call Navy employees for information and negative statements about Democratic opponent Sestak.

[14] He has fought for mandatory safety sprinklers in college dormitories and training of fire departments to deal with terrorism incidents involving chemical and biological weapons.

Weldon was the sole House Republican on the Migratory Bird Conservation Commission, which approves funding for U.S. wildlife refuges and wetlands preservation.

Weldon is a member of Global Legislators for a Balanced Environment (GLOBE), where he serves as Honorary Chairman of the Oceans Protection Task Force.

Weldon also co-authored the Family Medical Leave Act, pushed for the extension of unemployment benefits, has consistently supported raising the minimum wage, opposed the North American Free Trade Agreement, and voted for across-the-board tax cuts.

In 1993, Weldon and Bob Dole, among other Republicans, advocated pulling out of Somalia after the "Blackhawk Down" failed snatch and grab mission of Mohamed Farrah Aidid cost 18 American dead.

According to officials who have been briefed about its contents, the report concludes that Beijing's acquisition of secret American weapons designs was part of an intelligence collection effort that spanned 20 years, including both Republican and Democratic Administrations.

He has worked with Russian leaders on a variety of issues, including efforts to improve Russia's energy supply, correct environmental damage and protect both nations from ballistic missile attack.

Titled "A New Time, A New Beginning", his proposal makes recommendations for cooperative efforts in eleven different areas ranging from defense and national security to space exploration and scientific research.

The delegation didn't go as official representatives of the White House, which had repeatedly refused North Korea's demands that the two countries meet one-on-one.

But two days prior to the October 25 departure date, White House Chief of Staff Andrew Card informed Weldon that the administration was "pulling all support."

Weldon said Pyongyang was serious about abandoning its nuclear program, but he said it wanted certain assurances from the United States — the main one being that an end to what he called "inflammatory rhetoric" from Washington.

[25] Weldon has frequently taken contrarian positions on such subjects as Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, and pre-war Iraqi weapons of mass destruction.

[citation needed] In October 2005, Weldon gave a speech on the House floor in which he described the Able Danger military intelligence program, stating they correctly identified Mohamed Atta's Brooklyn cell in January and February 2000, a year prior to the attacks.

In mid-2005, Weldon's book, Countdown to Terror: The Top-Secret Information that Could Prevent the Next Terrorist Attack on America ... and How the CIA Has Ignored It, was published.

[citation needed] According to the book, Iranian-supported terrorists were plotting to fly a hijacked Canadian airliner into the Seabrook Nuclear Power Station, 40 miles outside Boston.

[citation needed] "Ali" was identified in April 2005 as Fereidoun Mahdavi, a frail, elderly former minister of commerce in the government of the Shah of Iran.

[30] Weldon was one of six "Congressional Co-Chairs" for a Sun Myung Moon event on March 23, 2004, in the Dirksen Senate Office Building, which was described in the invitation as being for the "Interreligious and International Peace Council.

"[32] Investigative reporter John Gorenfeld then found a photo depicting Weldon as giving the opening "congratulatory remarks" from the stage.

[35] The FBI and Justice Department's investigations were triggered by a 2004 article in the Los Angeles Times reporting on Weldon and his daughter's links to the Russians and Serbians.

[42] On October 19, 2006, The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that Weldon has in his possession a letter from the House Ethics Committee that he claims "closed the case" about whether he used his influence to help his daughter.

Although emails from the Weldon campaign quoted by the Inquirer claim the Ethics panel "closed the case in 2004", the article reveals the matter was not dismissed until September 29, 2006.

On December 22, 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that a federal grand jury had subpoenaed Weldon's congressional records prior to the November elections.

[44] On July 17, 2007, The Washington Post reported that, as of Spring 2007, federal investigators were continuing to examine Weldon's official actions taken on behalf of his daughter's lobbying clients.

"[48] In January 2006, the Los Angeles Times reported that Cecilia Grimes, 40, who calls herself a longtime family friend of Weldon, was the senior partner in a two-person lobbying firm located in Media, Pennsylvania, where she is realtor.

Among the most recent clients signed by Grimes and Young is Oto Melara, a subsidiary of Italian defense company Finmeccanica, the firm that employs Kim Weldon.

Grimes lobbied about a dozen members of Congress, including Weldon, for a $3 million contract in 2005, which became the firm's first funding from a defense appropriations bill.

Prior to working for Weldon, Reiser was a lobbyist for Chambers Associates and served as former California Governor Pete Wilson's representative in Washington.

[56] After his election defeat in November 2006, Weldon joined Defense Solutions, headquartered in Exton, Pennsylvania, as the company's chief strategic officer.