2005-11-29 - 3:28 p.m.
Randy "Duke" Cunningham
This guy was a big hero of mine growing up. I was really into military aviation and Top Gun and all that. In Vietnam he shot down five enemy aircraft, including three in one day.
Duke Cunningham was in all the documentaries about the air war in Vietnam. His wartime exploits and his time at the TOP GUN school after the war were the inspiration for the movie �Top Gun�
So it was terribly disappointing when I finally made the connection between my childhood hero and the latest scumbag politician on the take.
Since I get almost all my news from the radio, I couldn�t see the guy blubbering about how sorry he was for letting down the American people. It wasn�t until today that I finally realized that this was the very same guy that I had idolized for so long.
He just pleaded guilty to taking over two million dollars in cash bribes, gifts, and vacations from defense contractors. Cunningham is a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, the guys who doll out the big money and decide which company gets defense contracts.
He has actually been under investigation for a while now, and at the beginning of the investigation he was quite adamant that he "acted honorably and honestly" during his 14 years in office.
Then one month later he decided not to run for re-election since he displayed "poor judgment" when he sold his former home to a defense contractor for $700,000 more than it was worth. Oddly enough the same defense contractor went on to receive a 40 million dollar contract with the pentagon. What a coincidence.
Sniff.
Finally in a tearful address to the nation, (now that the case is closed and there is no way for him to weasel out of it) Cunningham admitted that he �was not strong enough to face the truth� when he had angrily stated his innocence earlier.
Maybe I�m expecting too much from a politician, but this is absolute B.S.
When he realized that he had been busted for the housing deal, he knew he would never win re-election, but thought he may still get away with it all. So he is all defensive and "I acted honorably and honestly" then when he is completely busted, and has already plead guilty to these crimes, �He was not strong enough to face the truth.�
Yeah, ok, whatever.
I don�t imagine for a second that Duke Cunningham is alone in his corruption; I just think he is especially foolish and obvious about his misconduct.
How does someone who earns $162,100 a year (plus some sweet benefits) afford to live here?
That is a $3,500,000 dollar house.
By the way he was living on a luxury yacht owned by the same defense contractor who bought his house from him, I can�t imagine why anyone would think that things were not on the level.
It pisses me off pretty seriously that this kind of thing goes on, it is even more egregious to my sensibilities is that he is expected to get off easy because of his service record.
Personally I think we should hold him to higher standard rather than a lesser, especially since he has wrapped himself in that heroic cloak so often, including in his resignation speech.
I�ve included a brief summary article below.
Thoroughly disappointed,
-Justus
From wikipedia:
In June 2005 it was revealed that a defense contractor, Mitchell Wade, founder of the defense contracting firm MZM Inc., took a $700,000 loss on buying Cunningham's Del Mar house. (MZM Inc. has since been renamed Athena Innovative Solutions Inc.) Cunningham is a member of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee; soon after the purchase, Wade began to receive tens of millions of dollars worth of defense and intelligence contracts. Cunningham claimed the deal was legitimate, adding, "I feel very confident that I haven't done anything wrong." Later in June, it was further reported that Cunningham lives in a yacht while he is in Washington that is owned by Wade, paying only for maintenance. The Federal Bureau of Investigation launched an investigation regarding the real estate transaction. His home as well as MZM Corporate Offices and Wade's home were all simultaneously raided by a number of federal agencies with warrants on July 1, 2005 [2]. Cunningham was also recently criticized for selling merchandise on his personal website, since disabled, such as a $595 buck knife, with the official seal of Congress used without permission (it is a federal crime to do so).
Cunningham angrily denied the charges, telling his constituents on June 23 that he had "acted honorably and honestly" during his 14 years in office. However, on July 14, he announced he would not run for a ninth term, saying that he displayed "poor judgement" when he sold his former home to Wade.
In September, 2005, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named Cunningham one of the thirteen most corrupt members of Congress as a result of the ethics controversy. [3]
On November 28, 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud in U.S. federal court. 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. As part of his guilty plea, Cunningham agreed to forfeit his home in Rancho Santa Fe to the government since he bought it with funds received from selling his previous home to Wade. He will also forfeit more than $1.8 million in cash, antiques and rugs. Cunningham had tried to sell his new house, but federal prosecutors moved to block the sale after finding evidence that he bought it with Wade's money. Burns will sentence him in February 2006; Cunningham faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.
Overcome by emotion, Cunningham resigned from the House at a press conference just after entering his plea. House rules do not allow members convicted of felonies to vote or participate in committee work. Under Republican caucus rules, he would have lost his subcommittee chairmanship.
In marked contrast to his defiant stand earlier in the year, Cunningham was very contrite and sullen when he read his prepared statement announcing that he was stepping down:
"When I announced several months ago that I would not seek re-election, I publicly declared my innocence because I was not strong enough to face the truth. So, I misled my family, staff, friends, colleagues, the public -- even myself. For all of this, I am deeply sorry. The truth is -- I broke the law, concealed my conduct, and disgraced my high
office. I know that I will :forfeit my freedom, my reputation, my worldly possessions, and most importantly, the trust of my friends and family. [...] In my life, I have known great joy and great sorrow. And now I know great shame. I learned in Viet Nam that the true measure of a man is how he responds to adversity. I cannot undo what I have done. But I can atone. I am now almost 65 years old and, as I enter the twilight of my life,I intend to use the remaining time that God grants me to make amends."
