Free Republic

Boat sale by 'Duke' made him $400,000 Buyer's kin were lenders of Cunningham mortgage By Jerry Kammer and Marcus Stern COPLEY NEWS SERVICE July 5, 2005 CITY ISLAND, N.Y. – Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham made roughly a $400,000 profit by selling the boat he lived aboard in the nation's capital from 1997 to 2002 to a businessman convicted in a bid-rigging scheme. The man said he subsequently got advice from Cunningham about how to pursue a presidential pardon from the Bush administration. The businessman further acknowledged that a mortgage company owned by his daughter and nephew provided Cunningham with two...

Agents raid Cunningham home, MZM office, yacht (Rep. Duke Cunningham) Lawmaker's lawyers: Surprise searches an 'appalling abuse' WASHINGTON – In a dramatic sign of a fast-moving, bicoastal investigation, federal agents searched the Rancho Santa Fe home of Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham yesterday, along with the Washington office of a defense contractor linked to the Republican congressman and the yacht where Cunningham had lived. Cunningham's lawyers criticized the government's actions as an "appalling abuse of government power" and "strong arm tactics." The federal task force that conducted the coordinated, surprise raids on opposite coasts included agents from the U.S. Attorney's Office...

Federal agents on Friday searched the offices of a defense contractor tied to Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-Calif.) as well as the boat Cunningham lived on for more than a year, the latest sign of a growing investigation into the relationship between Cunningham and Mitchell Wade, founder of MZM Inc.

FBI Searches Home of California Congressman at Center of Federal ProbeBy Seth Hettena Associated Press Writer Published: Jul 1, 2005 SAN DIEGO (AP) - Federal agents on Friday searched the California home of U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, along with the yacht in Washington, D.C., where he has been living, the FBI said. Agents from the FBI, Internal Revenue Service and the Defense Department's criminal investigative service also searched the Washington offices of a defense firm whose founder bought the congressman's previous home, leading to a federal investigation, said Debra Weierman, a Washington FBI spokeswoman. Cunningham, 63, has said that...

After 11 days of near silence in the face of mounting controversy, Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham released a three-page statement yesterday acknowledging that he "showed poor judgment" in selling his Del Mar house to "a friend who does business with the government." The Rancho Santa Fe Republican added that he welcomed "all appropriate investigations" and expressed confidence that they would show he "acted honorably and honestly." The controversy stems from Cunningham's 2003 sale of his Del Mar house to Mitchell Wade, a Cunningham friend and founder of the Washington, D.C.-based defense contracting company MZM Inc. Wade put the house back...

Washington -- Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, pounced Monday on the ethical troubles of a fellow House member, Republican Randy "Duke'' Cunningham of San Diego County, who is under investigation for an alleged sweetheart real estate deal with a defense industry lobbyist. "Attention Powerful Lobbyists,'' read the headline in a satirical advertisement Stark bought Monday in the online editions of CongressDaily and the Hotline, a political roundup. "House for sale by influential member of Congress." A San Diego federal grand jury and the FBI are investigating Cunningham, who sits on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, for his sale of a home...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Randy ''Duke'' Cunningham, R-Calif., told the House on Monday that he's been served with a document subpoena in Imperial County, Calif., and plans to comply with it. His announcement was read on the House floor by a congressional clerk as the House convened for the week. Cunningham spokesman Mark Olson said the subpoena, issued by Imperial County Superior Court, concerned constituent casework, but he declined to give further details. He said it was unrelated to a real estate transaction by Cunningham that federal authorities in California are investigating. A federal grand jury has reportedly convened in...

WASHINGTON – The FBI has opened an inquiry into Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's 2003 sale of his Del Mar house to a defense contractor, who later sold it at a $700,000 loss, a Justice Department official said yesterday. The action comes amid fresh signs of unusual personal ties between Cunningham and the defense contractor, who named a 42-foot yacht after the Rancho Santa Fe Republican and turned it over to him to use while in Washington. The Justice Department official, who spoke on the condition that he not be identified because of the inquiry's preliminary nature, would not comment about...

A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor's efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon. Mitchell Wade bought the San Diego Republican's house for $1,675,000 in November 2003 and put it back on the market almost immediately for roughly the same price. But the Del Mar house languished unsold and vacant for 261 days before selling for $975,000. Meanwhile, Cunningham used the proceeds of...

A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house . Mitchell Wade bought the San Diego Republican's house for $1,675,000 in November 2003 and put it back on the market almost immediately for roughly the same price. But the Del Mar house languished unsold and vacant for 261 days before selling for $975,000. "My whole life I've lived aboveboard," Cunningham said. "I've never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. I don't cheat. If a contractor buys me lunch and we meet a second time, I buy the...

Has Republican Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham Been Bribed? I can't say that I know a whole about California Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) -- well, other than the fact that he looks to be about as crooked as dog's hindleg. Take a look at this sweet deal Cunningham got and tell me it doesn't look like just as sleazy as Hillary Clinton's cattle futures pay-off: "A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was...