Another One Kinda, Sorta Bites the Dust
After the disgraces of Mike Brown (who was thrown out as FEMA chief and that's it), Bill Frist (who is under suspicion of violating a blind trust to profit), and Tom DeLay (who isn't out of the woods but isn't exactly counting the minutes until some kind of impending doom), California Congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigned earlier this week, admitting he took bribes and evaded taxes worth millions of dollars.
The Republicans were rightly quick to denounce Cunningham.
It is a shame, given Cunningham's former reputation as a Vietnam war hero. He will plead guilty in his felony case. However, he should not get off easily. This is (well...was) a member of Congress that was taking bribes. That undermines the very foundation of a functioning democracy. This won't be a case where one person should be made an example for others. Every officeholder should be made examples for they should be the ones that are a cut above the rest of us. That is why we elect them, isn't it? As such, they should be held to a higher standard, as they are the ones in control of the money and laws of this country.
Hopefully, Cunningham will get what is deserved. And hopefully those that were using Cunningham will be brought to justice as well.
Let's face it. While Cunningham was very tearful when announcing his resignation and his "sorrow" for taking the bribes, he wasn't at all tearful until the evidence started pointing in his direction. This wasn't a one-time deal. From the Times:
According to his plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Mr. Cunningham, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from two military contractors while helping them win Pentagon contracts.
Lawyers involved in the case identified the contractors as Mitchell J. Wade, founder of MZM Inc., a company he has since sold that provides intelligence services to the Pentagon and other government agencies, and Brent Wilkes, founder of a data processing company that did business with the Defense Department.
Prosecutors said the contractors also gave Mr. Cunningham hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts, including a Rolls-Royce, two 19th-century French commodes, four armoires, a wooden sideboard with turned wooden spindles, three nightstands, a necklace, a laser shooting simulator and $15,000 worth of Oriental carpets (described in court documents as "one Indo Herati, one Karaja, one Indo Keshan and two Cino Kerman rugs").
The contractors also paid for tens of thousands of dollars' worth of repairs to the Rolls-Royce and to Mr. Cunningham's boat, the Kelly C, and essentially bought the former congressman a $2.55 million home in the exclusive San Diego County community of Rancho Santa Fe.
It isn't just any bribery for a handout to some company in the district. This could have had implications on the security of the United States. Here's hoping that Cunningham gets paid in full should there be sentencing.
The Republicans were rightly quick to denounce Cunningham.
It is a shame, given Cunningham's former reputation as a Vietnam war hero. He will plead guilty in his felony case. However, he should not get off easily. This is (well...was) a member of Congress that was taking bribes. That undermines the very foundation of a functioning democracy. This won't be a case where one person should be made an example for others. Every officeholder should be made examples for they should be the ones that are a cut above the rest of us. That is why we elect them, isn't it? As such, they should be held to a higher standard, as they are the ones in control of the money and laws of this country.
Hopefully, Cunningham will get what is deserved. And hopefully those that were using Cunningham will be brought to justice as well.
Let's face it. While Cunningham was very tearful when announcing his resignation and his "sorrow" for taking the bribes, he wasn't at all tearful until the evidence started pointing in his direction. This wasn't a one-time deal. From the Times:
According to his plea agreement with federal prosecutors, Mr. Cunningham, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, took hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash from two military contractors while helping them win Pentagon contracts.
Lawyers involved in the case identified the contractors as Mitchell J. Wade, founder of MZM Inc., a company he has since sold that provides intelligence services to the Pentagon and other government agencies, and Brent Wilkes, founder of a data processing company that did business with the Defense Department.
Prosecutors said the contractors also gave Mr. Cunningham hundreds of thousands of dollars' worth of gifts, including a Rolls-Royce, two 19th-century French commodes, four armoires, a wooden sideboard with turned wooden spindles, three nightstands, a necklace, a laser shooting simulator and $15,000 worth of Oriental carpets (described in court documents as "one Indo Herati, one Karaja, one Indo Keshan and two Cino Kerman rugs").
The contractors also paid for tens of thousands of dollars' worth of repairs to the Rolls-Royce and to Mr. Cunningham's boat, the Kelly C, and essentially bought the former congressman a $2.55 million home in the exclusive San Diego County community of Rancho Santa Fe.
It isn't just any bribery for a handout to some company in the district. This could have had implications on the security of the United States. Here's hoping that Cunningham gets paid in full should there be sentencing.
posted by Will at 8:31 PM
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