Although no charges have been filed in the federal probe of U.S. Rep. Curt Weldon, R-Pa., the appearance of influence by the congressman in helping to direct business to a consulting company run by his daughter and a close political ally does fail the smell test.

Weldon has denied any wrongdoing, but it stretches the imagination to believe that his daughter's consulting firm just happened to land contracts worth more than $1 million from foreign companies helped by Weldon in Congress.

Last week, FBI agents hauled away boxes of documents from Weldon's daughter's home and her office. Federal agents also removed documents from the office of Weldon's daughter's business partner.

Weldon, who serves as vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, claims the raids were nothing more than a Democratic plot to discredit him. But it is hard not to see a connection between Weldon's help for foreign countries or foreign companies and lucrative consulting contracts awarded to his daughter's firm.

For instance, in 2002, Weldon began efforts to provide a federal development grant to aid commercialization of a Siberian natural gas field by Itera International, a giant Russian energy firm. Soon after Weldon began efforts on the company's behalf, Itera awarded a $500,000 contract to Solutions North America, a consultimg company owned by one of Weldon's daughters.

In 2003, Weldon became an ally of a Russian aircraft manufacturer seeking to sell equipment to the Pentagon. Weldon, along with his daughter, visited the company's plant in Russia at about the same time Weldon's daughter was negotiating a $20,000-a-month contract to provide the company with promotional help and help in attracting customers.

The timing of Weldon's efforts and contracts for his daughter's company could be purely coincidental, but the pattern suggests it is more likely companies returning a favor to Weldon for his efforts on their behalf.

There have been no suggestions that Weldon himself has benefited from any of these deals, but his daughter and a few close friends certainly have reaped benefits that they probably would not have received were it not for their close connection to the influential congressman. And although Weldon might not have benefited personally in these deals, the Federal Election Commission reports that three of the companies he worked with and their executives ended up giving $95,000 to Weldon's re-election efforts.

After being easily re-elected to 10 terms, Weldon reportedly is in a tight race this year. So, it is possible that politics is playing a role in the recent raids by federal agents. But, the timing of the lucrative contracts to Weldon's daughter's company is just as suspicious.

More needs to be known about Weldon's efforts as an influential congressman and the consulting contracs awarded to his daughter and other people close to the congressman. But at this point, the link between Weldon's efforts and financial thank-you gestures to his family and friends look suspicious.

On the Democratic side, recent reports that Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid, of Nevada, made $1.1 million on the sale of property he had not owned for three years, suggest more needs to be known about the Las Vegas land deal. Reid failed to report a transaction in his congressional disclosure report that he sold the land to a company created by a friend and former casino lawyer. One of the sellers of the land that Reid originally bought for $400,000 was a developer who benefited from a government land swap that Reid supported.

According to an Associated Press report, Reid hung up the phone when asked about details of the real estate deal.

Too many people in Washington, D.C., and many state capitals are willing to parlay favor-granting and influence into financial gain for themselves or others close to them.

Only time and further investigation will tell if Weldon (and Reid) will be the latest on that long, and growing, list.