Posted on 11/28/2005 11:50:36 AM PST by standingfirm
SAN DIEGO — Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges involving the sale of his home two years ago to a defense contractor at an inflated price.
Admitting to a judge that he took bribes, Cunningham entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004.
Cunningham, 63, and his wife, Nancy, used the proceeds from the $1,675,000 sale to defense contractor Mitchell Wade to buy a $2.55 million mansion in ritzy Rancho Santa Fe. Wade put the Del Mar house back on the market and sold it after nearly a year for $975,000 — a loss of $700,000.
Cunningham answered "yes, Your Honor" when asked by U.S. District Judge Larry Burns if he had accepted bribes from someone in exchange for his performance of official duties.
Cunningham, an eight-term congressman, announced in July that he wouldn't seek re-election next year. The former Vietnam War flying ace is known on Capitol Hill for his interest in defense issues and his occasional temperamental outbursts.
He drew little notice outside his San Diego-area district before the San Diego Union-Tribune reported last June that he'd sold the home to Wade
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
You're psychic, dude. Just heard her quoted as saying exactly that on Fox just a moment ago. Cunningham is a crook, but at least he had the decency to resign. If Cunningham were a Democrat Pelosi would be doing everything to get him off to avoid a "constitutional crises."
Couldn't he have just run a male prostitution ring out of his house or been porking a male house page?
No, he has to take money.
/sarc
Apparently not, but that is what he wanted you to think.
The difference is that Pelosi would have defended a 'Rat to the bitter end rather than dump a crook.
This kind of corruption wouldn't happen if we paid our congressmembers $1 million a year. Well, maybe it still would.
The real problem is we don't pay our congressmen enough. Would $1 million a year really be that bad? We can afford it.
He lost his way and he broke the law and for that he must pay. This should be a lesson to other politicians. We must demand high ethical standards from our politicians, at least on our Republican side, because I truly believe we are "better" than the other side.
LET THIS BE A WARNING TO OUR POLITICIANS!
Difference here is that he pled guilty!
A filthy Dem would have pled not guilty, then used taxpayer money to pay for a trial and try to evade a conviction/sentencing.
Duke was my Congressman and I always gave him the benefit of the doubt. I am extremely disappointed and disgusted by this outcome.
I would like to characterize this as a mistake but looking at the blatant, reckless nature of his actions it seems to me he acted in a willfully dishonest fashion arrogantly expecting that his stature would protect him from discovery. I can only shake my head in wonder while thinking "what the hell causes a guy with his history to go down that path?"
Duke will be remembered by me. He commited crimes yes. Duke and Willie Driscoll spent a lot of time airborne over Viet Nam. They did a lot for us and that is what I will remember. I don't condone what he did and I will tell everyone this. No matter what he did our Navy and Marine Pilots have the F-18 E/F model because of him. The will be able to have a chance to rat more than once because of him. I will not forget the lives he will save.
The Cunningham that earned respect for his courage and superior performance in the face of the enemy is far removed from that corrupt legislator crying in front of the cameras. People change; I say throw the book at him.
Right. We don't need criminals in our midst. The party will be better off in the long run kicking the criminal element of the party out to the curb.
"You would never see this sort of reaction on the other side of the political fence."
It hacks me off to no end to see a Republican and a military man doing something like this, but you're dead right about the response.
I've talked about that with a number of people over the past few years, mainly since it happened to Gingrich, and the funny thing is: liberals just refuse to believe it.
"There's something admirable about both."
I'm sorry, but I don't find anything admirable about winning elections by lying about one's crimes.
Well said. Exactly right.
If you paid congressmen $1 million per year, you would have 435 careerists willing to do whatever it took to get reelected every two years and the good of the country be damned.
Hey! That's uncalled-for! Below the belt! Harrumph!
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