California Republican took $2.4 million in bribes to steer defense contracts

[phk]

alif. Congressman Admits Taking Bribes

By ELLIOT SPAGAT
SAN DIEGO (AP) - 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.

Learn More About the 109th Congress [CBS News]
 
``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.

Associated Press reporter Erica Werner in Washington contributed to this report.

[MODU]

Sad to see a true hero fall from grace.  With that said, he deserves what ever punishment he receives.

[Blue Rectangle]

Sad to see a true hero fall from grace.  With that said, he deserves what ever punishment he receives.

^^^^^

Don't do the crime if you can't do the time.

And we have an early leader for "Partisan Hack of the WeeK" in Nancy Pelosi, who quickly claimed that all Republicans are this corrupt.

[Moooooo]

And we have an early leader for "Partisan Hack of the WeeK" in Nancy Pelosi, who quickly claimed that all Republicans are this corrupt.

Quote/Source?

[Blue Rectangle]

And we have an early leader for "Partisan Hack of the WeeK" in Nancy Pelosi, who quickly claimed that all Republicans are this corrupt.

Quote/Source?

From CNN.com:

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Hmmm....but she did say "the Republican-controlled Congress", not "Republicans in Congress".  Maybe she meant that "the culture of corruption" is in both parties of Congress.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The Republican culture of curroption is evident here:

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/gopscorecard.htm

[John Dibble]

The Republican culture of curroption is evident here:

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/gopscorecard.htm

Piece of advice - don't pretend that the Democrats are squeaky clean.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

The Republican culture of curroption is evident here:

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/gopscorecard.htm

Piece of advice - don't pretend that the Democrats are squeaky clean.

OK, but they're a gazillon times better. Lied about a blow job? Who cares?

[John Dibble]

The Republican culture of curroption is evident here:

http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/gopscorecard.htm

Piece of advice - don't pretend that the Democrats are squeaky clean.

OK, but they're a gazillon times better. Lied about a blow job? Who cares?

No, I meant don't pretend that none of them take bribes and whatnot.

[TheresNoMoney]

No, I meant don't pretend that none of them take bribes and whatnot.

There's no evidence of charges against any Democrats taking bribes. Hell, there's no reason to bribe a Democrat since none of them have any power.

But I'm sure you're just trying to be "fair and balanced". If a Republican does something wrong, that means that some Democrat somewhere must have done the same thing, right? I'm sure the Republican party is thankful that they have a "libertarian" apologist like you, Dibble.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

There's no evidence of charges against any Democrats taking bribes. Hell, there's no reason to bribe a Democrat since none of them have any power.

Well actually.....

Democrats in Tennessee have been scarred by numerous scandals coming from the "Tennessee Waltz" investigation.   They took bribes in exchange for proposing and supporting legislation.  All but one of the state legislators and bag men who have been indicted are Democrats, and the one Republican is an actual RINO who is "Naifeh's boy".  (Jimmy Naifeh is our Democrat speaker of the house.)  Philly Bredesen, our Democrat governor who cuts people's vital health care services for sport, is now drowning in scandal and controversy.  So perhaps people who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.

[Joe Republic]

If a Republican does something wrong, that means that some Democrat somewhere must have done the same thing, right?

I see you're finally getting it.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

If a Republican does something wrong, that means that some Democrat somewhere must have done the same thing, right?

I see you're finally getting it.

Yeah, who cares about all of the Bush, Cheney, DeLay, Frist, Hastert scandals. Some Democrat in North Dakota must have done the same.

[John Dibble]

No, I meant don't pretend that none of them take bribes and whatnot.

There's no evidence of charges against any Democrats taking bribes. Hell, there's no reason to bribe a Democrat since none of them have any power.

Seeing as htmldon has shown an example of Democrats being involved with bribery, I'll go no further on that other than saying that at the federal level Democrats are, admittedly, currently less likely to be bribed simply because they are not in power(still likely happens though) - but this is pretty much due to lack of opportunity, nothing else. The Democrats in federal office, like most people who got that far, are pretty much career politicians - politicians in general tend to be corrupt to some degree or another, and this crosses all party lines.

You must be logged in to read this quote.

Yes, I'm trying to be fair and balanced - I despise the partisan blindness of people like jfern which lacks clear, rational thought. They believe the other side is completely vile and corrupt, and that their own side is completely clean and can do no wrong. Any rational person can tell this is not the case. Hell, while my own party is mostly clean(partially due to being small and not in power), I do know there have been incidents of corruption in it. And you'll note that nowhere have I apologized for the actions of any Republicans - I know a good number of their officials are corrupt. As I said, that's politics. However, unlike jfern and now you it seems, I don't live in a fantasy land where the Democrats are a shining example of principled people who can do no wrong.

[Democratic Hawk]

Very naughty of him

Dave

[Joe Republic]

Yeah, who cares about all of the Bush, Cheney, DeLay, Frist, Hastert scandals. Some Democrat in North Dakota must have done the same.

I'm not sure about North Dakota, but.....

• Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-NY) - convicted in 1988 in Wedtech scandal of bribery, extortion, racketeering, filing a false tax return, mail fraud, and false financial disclosure; resigned from U.S. House before he could be expelled.
• Speaker Jim Wright (D-TX) - forced to resign in 1989 after ethics committee investigation found dozens of violations of House rules, including alleged improper receipt of $145,000 in gifts by Wright's wife from a Fort Worth developer and large profits from "sale" of Wright's speeches.
• Rep. Michael Myers (D-PA) - expelled from the U.S. House in 1980 following a FBI sting, in which he accepted a $50,000 bribe during the Abscam scandal.
• Rep. Tony Coelho (D-CA) - resigned from U.S. House in 1989 for unethical finance practices including "junk bond" deal.
• Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) -  federal district court judge impeached and convicted in 1989 of soliciting a bribe; subsequently elected to U.S. House in 1992, where he still serves.
• Former Defense Secretary and Washington insider Clark Clifford implicated in BCCI finance scandal in 1991.
• Delegate Walter Fauntroy (D-DC) - pleaded guilty in 1995 regarding lying on financial disclosure form.
• Rep. Walter Tucker (D-CA) - resigned from Congress in 1995 due to scandals involving allegations of bribery, and was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 1996 for extortion and tax evasion.
• Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) - indicted on corruption charges in 1994 and was forced to step down from all Congressional leadership positions.  Pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 1996 and sentenced to 17 months in prison.
• Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH) - expelled from the U.S. House in 2002 after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns and racketeering.  Convicted of ten felony counts, and is currently in prison.
• Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) - implicated in a bribery and campaign finance scandal.
• Mayor Marion Barry (D-DC) - caught on videotape using drugs in an FBI sting, imprisoned, then later re-elected.  Not exactly corruption, but pretty funny anyway.
• Gov. Edwin Edwards (D-LA) - sentenced to 10 years in prison on racketeering charges in 2001.
• Gov. Jim McGreevey (D-NJ) - involved in several incidences of extortion and corruption surrounding his homosexual affair.

I've left out talking about The Daley Machine in Chicago, Huey Long, the vote-buying culture in West Virginia, and Tammany Hall, simply because those were unreasonably long ago.  Oh, and I didn't even mention the non-sex-related Clinton scandals.

I could go on if you like......

[Blue Rectangle]

Most recently, we can talk about how Nancy Pelosi attacked Tom DeLay for not filing accurate reports on lobbyist sponsored travel--and how she then was caught doing the exact same thing.

At least Cunningham had just enough class to resign his office.  Only two Congressmen have been removed from office since the Civil War: Michael Myers and Jim Traficant--both for taking bribes.

[Joe Republic]

Oh, and it turns out Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) hasn't been paying his mortgage (source).  Clearly a $150,000 salary is just not enough.

[MODU]

Oh, and it turns out Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) hasn't been paying his mortgage (source).  Clearly a $150,000 salary is just not enough.

Didn't they just vote themselves another pay raise?  Maybe he can now make ends meet.  hahaha

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yeah, who cares about all of the Bush, Cheney, DeLay, Frist, Hastert scandals. Some Democrat in North Dakota must have done the same.

I'm not sure about North Dakota, but.....

• Rep. Mario Biaggi (D-NY) - convicted in 1988 in Wedtech scandal of bribery, extortion, racketeering, filing a false tax return, mail fraud, and false financial disclosure; resigned from U.S. House before he could be expelled.
• Speaker Jim Wright (D-TX) - forced to resign in 1989 after ethics committee investigation found dozens of violations of House rules, including alleged improper receipt of $145,000 in gifts by Wright's wife from a Fort Worth developer and large profits from "sale" of Wright's speeches.
• Rep. Michael Myers (D-PA) - expelled from the U.S. House in 1980 following a FBI sting, in which he accepted a $50,000 bribe during the Abscam scandal.
• Rep. Tony Coelho (D-CA) - resigned from U.S. House in 1989 for unethical finance practices including "junk bond" deal.
• Rep. Alcee Hastings (D-FL) -  federal district court judge impeached and convicted in 1989 of soliciting a bribe; subsequently elected to U.S. House in 1992, where he still serves.
• Former Defense Secretary and Washington insider Clark Clifford implicated in BCCI finance scandal in 1991.
• Delegate Walter Fauntroy (D-DC) - pleaded guilty in 1995 regarding lying on financial disclosure form.
• Rep. Walter Tucker (D-CA) - resigned from Congress in 1995 due to scandals involving allegations of bribery, and was sentenced to 27 months in prison in 1996 for extortion and tax evasion.
• Rep. Dan Rostenkowski (D-IL) - indicted on corruption charges in 1994 and was forced to step down from all Congressional leadership positions.  Pleaded guilty to mail fraud in 1996 and sentenced to 17 months in prison.
• Rep. Jim Traficant (D-OH) - expelled from the U.S. House in 2002 after being convicted of taking bribes, filing false tax returns and racketeering.  Convicted of ten felony counts, and is currently in prison.
• Sen. Robert Torricelli (D-NJ) - implicated in a bribery and campaign finance scandal.
• Mayor Marion Barry (D-DC) - caught on videotape using drugs in an FBI sting, imprisoned, then later re-elected.  Not exactly corruption, but pretty funny anyway.
• Gov. Edwin Edwards (D-LA) - sentenced to 10 years in prison on racketeering charges in 2001.
• Gov. Jim McGreevey (D-NJ) - involved in several incidences of extortion and corruption surrounding his homosexual affair.

I've left out talking about The Daley Machine in Chicago, Huey Long, the vote-buying culture in West Virginia, and Tammany Hall, simply because those were unreasonably long ago.  Oh, and I didn't even mention the non-sex-related Clinton scandals.

I could go on if you like......

You had to go back to the '80s? LOL. A lot of those "Democrats" are pretty conservative, like Traficant.

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Oh, and it turns out Rep. Bobby Rush (D-IL) hasn't been paying his mortgage (source).  Clearly a $150,000 salary is just not enough.

This is relevant to what?

[Blue Rectangle]

You had to go back to the '80s? LOL. A lot of those "Democrats" are pretty conservative, like Traficant.

Wow, yeah, he had to go back three whole years to find a Democratic Congressman who was found guilty of the exact same thing.  But that's totally different.

[Joe Republic]

I'm truly amazed that even when presented with clear evidence, Jfern still can't admit that he was wrong.

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

What about Rep. Bill Jefferson (D-LA) who is currently under investigation by the FBI for a Nigerian scam?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/13/AR2005081300852.html

[Bleeding heart conservative, HTMLdon]

Lest we forget about Frank Ballance (D-NC) who resigned last year and pleaded guilty to a federal conspiracy charge.

I dunno, maybe LAST YEAR is too long ago for JFraud.