A plea agreement hearing for Grimes is set for July 25 in U.S. District Court in Washington, when she is expected to plead guilty to the charges.
Grimes' lawyers said in a statement that she is "extremely remorseful for any mistake she has made in reference to this investigation," but that "any suggestion that Ms. Grimes engaged in any inappropriate, illegal or improper conduct with regard to her role as a lobbyist is incorrect and unfounded."
A source who knows both Grimes and Weldon confirmed to the Daily News yesterday that Grimes' was a close friend of Weldon.
"They were a couple," the source said.
The source confirmed that Grimes traveled with Weldon to London in January 2004 when he met with the son of Libyan president Moammar Gadhafi.
The fact that Weldon and Grimes had a long-running relationship raises additional questions about the assistance that Weldon provided to Grimes' clients when he was in office.
The Los Angeles Times reported in January 2006 that Weldon, who served as vice chairman of the House Armed Services and Homeland Security committees, had taken steps to help at least three clients of Grimes' Media-based lobbying firm.
Grimes did not respond to a phone message or e-mail yesterday, and Weldon, who is attending the Farnborough International Airshow in England, could not be reached.
On October 16, 2006 - the same day that the feds raided the homes and business office of Weldon's daughter and the former chairman of the Springfield Republican Party - FBI agents interviewed Grimes about her contacts with Weldon and served her with two grand-jury subpoenas for lobbying records dating back several years, according to court documents filed yesterday.
The portion of the investigation that involves Grimes focused on whether companies paid her firm in exchange for Weldon's support of their federal appropriations requests, prosecutors said in court filings that identify Weldon only as "Representative A."
