Federal investigators targeted four locations near Philadelphia, including the home of Karen Weldon, and two properties in Jacksonville, FBI spokesman Debbie Weierman said.

Weierman declined to elaborate. But another federal law enforcement official said the probe focused on whether the congressman used improper influence to steer business to his daughter and her partner, Charles Sexton.

The official, who has been briefed on aspects of the investigation, was not authorized to comment publicly on the inquiry. The congressman’s properties were not among the locations searched, the official said.

At a campaign stop near Philadelphia where Weldon is in a tight re-election race against Democrat Joe Sestak, the congressman denied any wrongdoing and questioned the timing of the investigation.

“What I find ironic, if there is an investigation, is that no one would tell me until three weeks before the election. This incident was 2½ years ago,” he told the Associated Press. “I’ve never helped my daughter get anything. My kids are qualified on their own.”

In 2004, a liberal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, called on the Justice Department to examine whether Weldon violated federal law by assisting companies that hired his daughter as a lobbyist.

Laocoon’s note:  Yeah, everything is timing and everything is political at this time, Rep. Weldon.  The problem is that it’s hard to imagine some FBI supervisor timing this out because it’s so well known how much Bush’s Bureau loves to make official moves to favor some Democrat against a senior GOP House committee chairman.  Those FBI agents and supervisors, wacky guys that they are, can’t wait to give a hand to a looney, left-wing … er, ah … turns out the Democrat, Joe Sestak, is a retired Admiral.  Well, you get my drift, anyway.