Duke Cunningham

For the United States football player, see Randall Cunningham.

File:Randy-duke-cunningham-2005-july-08.jpg

Randy "Duke" Cunningham speaking July 8, 2005

Randall Harold Cunningham, (born December 8, 1941) usually known as Randy or Duke, was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from California's 50th congressional district from 1991 to 2005. Cunningham resigned from the House on November 28, 2005 after pleading guilty to federal charges of conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud, wire fraud, and tax evasion for underreporting his income in 2004. The guilty plea constituted an admission for receiving at least $2.4 million in bribes. A special election to fill the vacancy left by Cunningham is scheduled for April 11, 2006.

Biography

Cunningham was born in Los Angeles, but grew up in rural Shelbina, Missouri. While growing up he loved to hunt pheasant and deer with his father. After receiving his bachelor's and master's degrees from the University of Missouri in 1964 and 1965, Cunningham spent a year as a swimming coach in Hinsdale, Illinois before joining the United States Navy in 1966. He eventually became an aviator. During his service, Cunningham became the first Navy ace in the Vietnam War, flying an F-4 Phantom from aboard aircraft carriers, and recording five confirmed kills, making him one of two U.S. pilots to "ace" in that war. He allegedly also downed Col. Nguyen Toon, a Vietnamese fighter ace, who flew a MiG-17 against him, although whether it was Cunningham's shot which downed the plane and whether Col. Toon ever existed are disputed by some. He was reportedly almost court-martialed while still in flight school for breaking into an office to compare his records with those of his colleagues—a charge denied by Cunningham, but supported by two of his superior officers at the time [1].

Returning from Vietnam in 1972, he became an instructor at the Navy's TOPGUN school for fighter pilots at Miramar Naval Air Station in San Diego. Many of his real-life experiences in combat and as an instructor were depicted in the popular 1986 movie Top Gun, although the movie's producer says it was not based on any specific aviator.

Cunningham's first wife, who he married in the 1960s, sent him a Dear John letter in 1972 while he was serving in Vietnam and divorced him. They had one son, Todd. Cunningham married his second wife, Nancy D. Jones, in San Diego on February 16, 1974. She was also previously-married and was a teacher. Dr. Nancy Cunningham was born 1952 and is an educator for the local school district. Cunningham had two daughters, April and Carrie, from his second marriage.

In 1985 Cunningham earned an MBA from National University, a San Diego night school. He retired from the Navy in 1987 as a commander, settling in Del Mar, a suburb of San Diego. However, success eluded him in business or teaching. He became nationally known as a CNN commentator on naval aircraft in the run-up to the Persian Gulf War.

Political career

Cunningham's notoriety as a CNN commentator led several Republican leaders to approach him about running in what was then the 44th District, one of four that divided San Diego. The district had been held for eight years by Democrat Jim Bates, and was considered the most Democratic district in the San Diego area. However, Bates was bogged down in a scandal involving charges of sexual harassment. Cunningham won the Republican nomination in 1990 and hammered Bates about the scandal, promising to be "a congressman we can be proud of." He won by just one percentage point, meaning that the San Diego area was represented entirely by Republicans for only the second time since the city was split into three districts after the 1960 census.

While House freshmen usually don't get much media attention outside of their home districts or states, Cunningham's status as a Vietnam War hero made him an exception. He was widely admired for his special knowledge of the armed forces, and played an important role in the debate on whether to use military force to make Iraq end its occupation of Kuwait. Guy Vander Jagt of Michigan, longtime chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, said that Cunningham had considerable "drawing power" and was treated as a celebrity by his fellow Republicans.

After the 1990 census, the district was renumbered the 51st District, and much of its share of San Diego was moved to the new 50th District. At the same time, the district added several areas of heavily Republican North San Diego County. In the 1992 Republican primary, Cunningham faced Bill Lowery, who had represented most of the other side of San Diego for the past 12 years before his home had been drawn out of his old district and into Cunningham's district. However, Lowery had been caught in the House banking scandal. Cunningham easily defeated him in the primary, which was tantamount to election in the redrawn district. While the district, which was renumbered the 50th after the 2000 census, is not as Republican as the other two Republican-leaning districts in the San Diego area, Cunningham was reelected six times by margins of 55 percent or more of the vote.

He was a member of the Appropriations and Intelligence committees, and chaired the House Intelligence Subcommittee on Human Intelligence Analysis and Counterintelligence during the 109th Congress. He was considered a leading Republican expert on national security issues. He was also a champion of education, using his position on the Appropriations Education Subcommittee to steer federal dollars to schools in San Diego. After surgery for prostate cancer in 1998, he became a champion of early testing for the disease.

While Cunningham said that "I cut my own rudder" on issues, he had a very conservative voting record — the most conservative voting record of any congressman from the San Diego area. He was held in extremely low regard by Democrats in part because of his sometimes intemperate outbursts. Some examples included:

• Challenging the patriotism of then-Democratic presidential candidate Bill Clinton in 1992 (along with fellow San Diego Republican Duncan Hunter) before a near-empty House chamber
• Making an inappropriate comment about Representative Barney Frank, where he equated a medical procedure to screen for prostate cancer with Frank's sexual orientation [2].
• Flipping off a constituent and "for emphasis, shouted the two-word meaning of his one-finger salute." [3]
• Suggesting that the Democratic House leadership should be "lined up and shot"—a call he'd previously made about Vietnam War protesters. [4]
• Getting in a shoving match with Rep. Jim Moran (D-Va.) over sending troops to Bosnia. After Cunningham fled, Moran found him crying in the cloakroom. [5]

Cunningham is often compared by liberal interest groups to former congressman Bob Dornan, with some justification; both are ardent conservatives, both are former military pilots, and both have become infamous for outbursts against perceived enemies.

In September 1996 Cunningham attacked President Clinton for appointing "soft on crime" judges. "We must get tough on drug dealers," he said. "Those who peddle destruction on our children must pay dearly." He favored stiff drug penalties and voted for the death penalty for major drug dealers. Four months later, his son Todd was arrested for helping to transport 400 pounds (181 kg) of marijuana from Massachusetts to California. At his son's sentencing hearing, Cunningham fought back tears as he begged the judge for leniency (Todd was sentenced to two and a half years in prison, in part because he tested positive for cocaine three times while on bail). Cunningham's press secretary responded to accusations of double standards with: "The sentence Todd got had nothing to do with who Duke is. Duke has always been tough on drugs and remains tough on drugs."

In the Washingtonian feature "Best & Worst of Congress" of 2004, Cunningham was rated (with four other House members) as "No Rocket Scientist" by a bipartisan survey of Congressional staff. [6]

Scandals and corruption

Allegations surfaced, Cunningham is defiant

In June 2005 it was revealed that a defense contractor, Mitchell Wade, founder of the defense contracting firm MZM Inc. (since renamed Athena Innovative Solutions Inc.), had bought Cunningham's house in Del Mar for $1,675,000. A month later, Wade placed it back on the market where it remained unsold for 8 months until the price was reduced to $975,000. Cunningham was 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 lived in a yacht while he was in Washington that was owned by Wade, paying only for maintenance. It is said Cunningham liked to invite women to his yacht. Two of them said that he would change into pajama bottoms and a turtleneck sweater to entertain them with chilled champagne by the light of his favorite lava lamp. [7] 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 [8].

In 1997, Cunningham bullied the Pentagon into buying a $20 million document-digitization system created by ADCS Inc., a company owned by San Diego businessman Brent Wilkes. Wilkes owned several companies with ties to the defense industry. The Pentagon didn't want the system and preferred to use the money for other purposes. When it hadn't implemented the system three years later, Cunningham went ballistic at a Defense Appropriations Subcommittee hearing. He demanded the firing of Lou Kratz, an assistant undersecretary of defense he held responsible for the delays. While this appeared to be another typical Cunningham outburst, it later emerged that Wilkes reportedly gave Cunningham more than $630,000 in cash and favors.[9]

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 in 2006, saying that he displayed "poor judgement" when he sold his former home to Wade.

Cunningham was also criticized for selling merchandise on his personal website, since disabled, such as a $595 buck knife featuring the official Congressional seal. However, he never obtained permission to use the seal, which is a federal offense.

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. [10]

Plea agreement

On November 28, 2005, Cunningham pleaded guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery, mail fraud and wire fraud at the San Diego federal district 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. The house sale at an inflated price, the free use of the yacht, a used Rolls-Royce, antique furniture, Persian rugs, jewelry, and a $2,000 contribution for his daughter's college graduation party were only a few of the numerous bribes that Cunningham admitted taking. [11]

As part of his guilty plea, Cunningham agreed to forfeit his home in Rancho Santa Fe to the government since he bought it with the proceeds of the sale of his previous home to Wade, and Wade and others had even paid off Cunningham's mortgage on the balance. 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. Because he pleaded guilty, Cunningham faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Had he tried to fight the charges, he risked spending the rest of his life in prison.[12]. Cunningham's attorney, Mark Holscher, later said that the government's evidence was so overwhelming that he had no choice but to recommend a guilty plea.

Cunningham announced his resignation at a press conference just after entering his plea. Had he declined to resign, he would have been very limited performing his duties in congress, as House rules do not allow members convicted of felonies to vote or participate in committee work pending investigation by the Ethics Committee. It is very likely that the committee would have recommended expelling Cunningham from the House, as happened with Democrat James Traficant three years earlier. Under Republican caucus rules, he would have lost his subcommittee chairmanship. He submitted his official resignation letter to the Clerk of the House and to California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger on December 1.

In marked contrast to his defiant stand earlier in the year, Cunningham was very contrite, sullen and overcome by emotion 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."

Despite his guilty plea, Cunningham may still receive a pension for his 21 years of service in the Navy and almost 15 years in Congress. While federal law only allows the government to strip pensions from federal employees guilty of treason, perjury or trading secrets with the enemy, San Diego benefits expert Robert Goldstein told the San Diego Union-Tribune that it is possible the government could still try to take the money from Cunningham. [13]

Reaction to plea agreement

Darrell Issa, a Republican who represents the neighboring 49th District, said after Cunningham's plea that he'd been waiting for Cunningham to explain his behavior "in a way that made sense to us" and that Cunningham's behavior "fell below the standard the public demands of its elected representatives." Duncan Hunter, the other Republican who represents San Diego, said on November 30 that he and Cunningham spent the rest of November 28 in prayer and that Cunningham wanted to "serve those who are suffering (and) to begin his long road of atonement" for his crimes. Many of Cunningham's staffers were stunned at the extent of their boss' crimes. Several of Cunningham's former colleagues have donated to charity campaign contributions he had given them.

Francine Busby, Cunningham's Democratic challenger in 2004 and a Democratic candidate for the 50th District in the upcoming special election to fill Cunningham's vacancy, called November 28th "a sad day for the people" and called for support for her proposed ethics reform bill, the "Clean House Act", saying "Our government in Washington is broken."

In an editorial on November 29, the Washington Post called the Cunningham affair "the most brazen bribery conspiracy in modern congressional history." Later that day, President George W. Bush called Cunningham's actions "outrageous" at a press briefing in El Paso. He also said that Cunningham should "pay a serious price" for his crimes [14]. House Speaker Dennis Hastert said in a December 6 statement that Cunningham was a "war hero," but that he broke "the public trust he has built through his military and congressional career." Union-Tribune columnist George Condon suggested in a December 1 column that Cunningham's actions "may have put ... troops at greater risk by judging contracts more for what they would do for him than for the military." [15]

More fallout

Almost as soon as Cunningham pled guilty, Intelligence Committee chairman Pete Hoekstra of Michigan (who, ironically, represents Guy Vander Jagt's former district) announced his panel would investigate whether Cunningham used his post on that committee to steer contracts to favored companies. Hoekstra said that Cunningham "no longer gets the benefit of the doubt" due to his admission to "very, very serious" crimes. "We need to look at worst-case scenarios," he added. He also shut off Cunningham's access to classified information. While Hoekstra doesn't believe that Cunningham improperly influenced the Intelligence Committee's work, a committee spokesman said that he wanted to make sure its work stayed on the level.

Bill Young of Florida, chairman of the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and former chairman of the full Appropriations Committee, said that he plans to review Cunningham's requests for defense projects. While he felt most of the requests were legitimate and supported by the Pentagon, he said that he needed to be "doubly sure that anything shaky is not going to stay in."

On December 14, prosecutors in former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's money laundering trial revealed that they are looking into ties between Wilkes and DeLay. One of Wilkes' companies donated $15,000 to DeLay's PAC, Texans for a Republican Majority. Wilkes also hired a consulting firm owned by DeLay's sister, Christine.

On January 6, 2006, Time reported[16] that Cunningham cooperated with law enforcement by wearing a concealed recording device (a "wire") while meeting with associates prior to his guilty plea. It is not known whom he met with while wired, but there is speculation Cunningham's misdeeds were not isolated instances and his case could reveal a larger web of corruption.

External links

• Official campaign website
• Unauthorized Randy Cunningham Page
• PAC donors, Indiv donors, Personal Financial Disclosures, Campaign Disburseents at PoliticalMoneyLine
• List of contributors to Cunningham's campaigns
• Archive of Cunningham's commerce website, topguninc.com (deactivated June 2005)
• Congressman's career buried by blizzard of questions on actions San Diego Union-Tribune, July 15, 2005
• Prosecutor's allegations against Cunningham
• Plea agreement (November 23, 2005)
• Cunningham's resignation statement (Union-Tribune, November 28, 2005)
• Duke Cunningham: First and Last Surrender FlashReport, November 30, 2005