Posted on 11/28/2005 12:30:57 PM PST by RWR8189
Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty Monday to conspiracy and tax charges and tearfully resigned from office, admitting he took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts to conspirators.
Cunningham, 63, entered pleas in U.S. District Court to charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004.
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.
Later, at a news conference, he wiped away tears as he announced his resignation.
"I can't undo what I have done but I can atone," he said.
Cunningham, an eight-term Republican congressman, had already announced in July that he would not seek re-election next year.
House Ethics rules say that any lawmaker convicted of a felony no longer should vote or participate in committee work. Under Republican caucus rules, Cunningham also would have lost his chairmanship of the House Intelligence subcommittee on terrorism and human intelligence.
The former Vietnam War flying ace was known on Capitol Hill for his interest in defense issues and his occasional temperamental outbursts.
After the hearing, Cunningham was taken away for fingerprinting and released on his own recognizance until a Feb. 27 sentencing hearing. He could receive up to 10 years in prison.
He also agreed to forfeit to the government his Rancho Santa Fe home, more than $1.8 million in cash and antiques and rugs.
In a statement, prosecutors said Cunningham admitted to receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes paid to him by several conspirators through a variety of methods, including checks totaling over $1 million, cash, rugs, antiques, furniture, yacht club fees and vacations.
"He did the worst thing an elected official can do _ he enriched himself through his position and violated the trust of those who put him there," U.S. Attorney Carol Lam said. The statement did not identify the conspirators.
The case began when authorities started investigating whether Cunningham and his wife, Nancy, used the proceeds from the $1,675,000 sale to defense contractor Mitchell Wade to buy the $2.55 million mansion in 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.
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.
Cunningham's pleas came amid a series of GOP scandals. Rep. Tom DeLay of Texas had to step down as majority leader after he was indicted in a campaign finance case; a stock sale by Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist is being looked at by regulators; and Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff was indicted in the CIA leak case.
We shall see. The Abramoff stuff hasn't hit the fan, yet.
It darn well should have. If there's enough evidence to convict Cunningham, there should also be enough to at least indict the contractors who bribed him. Bribing a federal official is also a federal crime, is it not?
$2.4 MILLION. He must at least be credited
with committing a crime that cannot be
labeled two-bit! At some point, he had
to ask himself if it was worth the risk.
Evidently, he thought it was. So why
cry now, Chump?
Unfortunately, probably plenty, maybe most of them, but not to worry, only the Republicans or Democrats who vote like Republicans (Trafficant) will ever have to answer for it. This is really the only explanation for why people are willing to spend millions of dollars to get elected to jobs that won't return in salary in 10 yrs. what they spend to get elected for 2.
Roger that. This guy had no reason to accept bribes. He was a successful businessman with an MBA and one of the most highly decorated fighter pilots of the VN era -- 2 Silver Stars, Navy Cross, numerous air medals, purple heart and nominated for the MoH. Just unbelievable.
Wrong.... This corrupt sonuvabitch was NOT "our guy"...
He was a corrupt politician, masquerading as a righteous patriot -- using his position of PUBLIC TRUST to his own personal benefit and welfare..
He was ELECTED to represent US -- and to defend the Constitution and Republic... He was WELL PAID to perform this public service -- and he FAILED.. HE CHEATED.... HE BROKE HIS OATH to us and the country for personal financial gain...
He's NOT our guy....by any definition of the term...
He is a corrupt bastard, deserving of 10 years or more in a REAL prison -- as the girlfriend of some 400 pound bozo.
All the damned "politicians" in Washington and our State Capitals should get the firm message, the old days are over..... The Internet can dig up and distribute the dirt and keep the heat turned up until results are achieved....
Semper Fi
I expect Cunningham will roll over on his benefactors as part of his plea arrangement.
Bob Ney from Ohio, a very conservative long serving Republican (close friend of Delay) is going to be indicted in the Abramoff scandal. He has already announced he will not run again and his district which is mostly Democrat will revert to them. I expect to see a lot of this between now and next Nov. and with enough help from prosecutors and courts, the House will return to the BIG crooks that the little crooks stole it from in '94.
Yes. People with honor do it every day.
And he kept up his denials long after he was 'caught.'
Yep. Murtha gets a million perks for being" a great man and a veteran." The entire congress is filled with congressmen with their hands out to people of influence, and no lobbyist survives without the contributions (payoffs). Some of them are more careful than others, but remember, it is they who write the rules governing themselves. This is no apology for Cunningham, either. I suspect his avarice existed when he arrived in Washington.
No, his mistake ( crime) was taking a bribe. We don't need him.
I'm the furthest thing from a GOP apologist and am getting a kick (what's that German word?) out of remembering how he was one of Hannity's favorites.
But federal law enforcement is so corrupt and politicized, that I get nervous when anyone cops a plea. You know the drill: they trump up a million charges that could put him away for life and be too expensive to fight in federal court. I don't have any reason to believe that happened here, but I wouldn't be surprised.
You known, you're right! The Pubie will usually resign.
Dems have no shame - witness Blanco and Nagen.
Just think about that statement for a while.
Exactly. But still, I have to wonder here about an alarming trend. Nobody can tell me that the dems aren't up to their eye balls in corruption, yet they are on the offense with corruption charges levelled at Republicans. Yes, Cunningham deserves to go down hard for this violation of public trust, BUT so does every congressperson who has violated that trust.
From a political standpoint, the dems,who are every bit as guilty, if not more, of acts that violate the public trust are getting away with hurling boulders while living in a glass house. The Republicans had better figure out a way to start to take out some pretty big dem names and fast or else 2006 will be a slaughter.
Sounds a lot like Murtha, IMO.
I feel the same way. I admired him for what he did as a pilot in the service of his country, but as a fighter pilot, he should know:
When people are gunning for you, you must keep your sh*t together and your head on a swivel.
I went to a hateful website out there, dukecunningham.org, and it looks like a nasty liberal website...they have him painted as a bible-thumping self-proclaimed war hero and hypocrite, all the usual left-wing "2 Minutes Hate".
If that didn't give him an idea there were people just looking for ways to shoot him down, then he isn't smart enough to be a Republican.
That, and he was not mildly breaking the law. This is not in the Tom Delay class of things...from what I understand, he had a friend who worked for a company doing defense business that bought his house and sold it for a huge loss so he could buy a new house. My guess is that lost money came from the defense contractor. And I don't know what else, but he should have been on the straight and narrow.
Dems can be crooked (and are) and get away with it. They have the shield of the media. Republicans have no such luxury, and they know it, or should.
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