Lawmaker's home sale questioned

[Zorro]

Cunningham defends deal with defense firm's owner

<snip>

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 the $1,675,000 sale to buy a $2.55 million house in Rancho Santa Fe. And Wade, who had been suffering through a flat period in winning Pentagon contracts, was on a tear – reeling in tens of millions of dollars in defense and intelligence-related contracts.

<snip>

More at:
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/politics/20050612-9999-1n12windfall.html

The "Duke's" defense is that he's an honest guy and has never smoked a joint. (???)

I sure wouldn't mind having someone pay me $700K over market for my house.

[sam sarrha]

1. sounds like a campaign contribution to me..

[Orangepeel]

2. it sounds like a bribe to me..

[Benhurst]

4. Sounds like a BRIBE to me. NT

[spotbird]

9. Lots of people make bad real estate investments

these things happen. We'll know everything is fine when the federal government doesn't prosecute him, since we know the DOJ is above politics.

Why you people don't trust a man at his word is beyond me.

[Rose Siding]

3. That just REEKS

:grr:

[KC21304]

5. Sounds like Republican standard operating procedure

to me.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Yep. Something smells alright.

Republicans are so damned convinced their crooked dealings will never be discovered, and that they can ALWAYS find a workable cover story.

This is pathetic.

[SpiralHawk]

7. Rancho Santa Fe? What that means...

Ranch of the Holy Faith -- and the main thing these Republicans have Holy Faith in is their ability to pull shady deals, and catapult propaganda. check the record.

[spotbird]

8. He doesn't even try to make it

believable.


Cunningham said his home sale to Wade was totally independent of any assistance he might have given MZM in its efforts to win defense and intelligence contracts.

Trust me = Fuck you

[althecat]

10. Just read about this on TPM... this deserves wide attention - reccomended

[althecat]

11. TPM Link... (Warning heavy use of irony..)

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_12.php#005813

[althecat]

12. Surely this cunningham moran should be prosecuted over this...

How could this not be an ethics violation? I can tell you if this happened in NZ Cunningham would be forced to resign at the least... and possibly far worse.

[northzax]

23. cause this is America, baby

everyone wants to sell their house to 700,000 above market value, if some sucker wants to buy it, that ain't my problem.

[Mr Rabble]

13. I live in this asshats district.

A true scumbag this guy.

[Misskittycat]

24. Me, too. n/t

[Straight Shooter]

14. Somehow the Boeing debacle of shady deals springs to mind.

*cough* They didn't get away with it, either. *cough*

[althecat]

15. KICK.. needs one more reccommendation

[AX10]

16. Randy needs to resign.

[althecat]

18. Yip he does...

[althecat]

17. Kick still needs a reccomendation.

[meganmonkey]

19. The only part I believe is that he's never smoked "a marijuana cigarette"

and I think he'd have been better off if he had :smoke:

[Zorro]

22. He may not have smoked anything...

but his son sure did.

After years of voting for more draconian penalties for marijuana possession, "Duke" got up and blubbered like a baby in court while asking for leniency for his son, who was convicted of drug trafficking a few years back.

He's another typical Republican hypocrite. Where do they all come from? Is this some sort of mandatory requirement to be a Republican politician?

[livetohike]

20. "Duke's" seat was challenged by Francine Busby in '04

and she is going for it again. Please check her out and if you can,support her. I have met her and she will be a wonderful Democratic Congress person.

http://www.busbyforcongress.com

[realFedUp]

21. Front page of LA Times is on Dem John Murtha....

They seemed to have missed this one on Duke.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-lobby13jun13,0,6295258.story?coll=la-home-headlines

Lobbyist's Brother Guided House Bill
A family member's ties to special interests raise questions in the case of Democrat John Murtha.
By Ken Silverstein and Richard Simon
Times Staff Writers

June 13, 2005

WASHINGTON — When Congress passed the $417-billion Pentagon spending bill last year, Rep. John P. Murtha, the top Democrat on the House defense appropriations subcommittee, boasted about the money he secured to create jobs in his Pennsylvania district.

But the bill Murtha helped write also benefited at least 10 companies represented by a lobbying firm where his brother, Robert "Kit" Murtha, is a senior partner, according to disclosure records, interviews and an analysis of the bill by The Times.

Clients of the lobbying firm KSA Consulting — whose top officials also include former congressional aide Carmen V. Scialabba, who worked for Rep. Murtha for 27 years — received a total of $20.8 million from the bill.

One of the clients, a small Arkansas maker of military vehicles, received $1.7 million, triple its total sales for 2004. Several other clients received money that represented more than half of their annual sales from last year.

KSA directly lobbied the congressman's office on behalf of seven companies that received money from the bill, records and interviews show. Among those clients, a firm based in Maryland received one of the larger individual awards, $4.2 million.

continued

[denverbill]

25. If Congress wasn't so totally corrupt, this guy would be getting a hearing

Remember the good old days when corrupt politicians were investigated and rebuked and jailed for bribery and corruption?

[acmejack]

26. Top Gun

Duke was original top gun, I think pulling too many G's too often hurt his brain.

[Toots]

27. Amazes me how a Congressman can afford a 2.5 million dollar home.

:shrug: I guess we really pay our Representatives well.

[althecat]

28. Has there been a followup

[maddezmom]

29. kick to combine

[althecat]

30. Questions On GOP Rep. Cunningham's Real Estate Sale To Defence Contractor

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/13/news/politics/61205200842.txt

Cunningham home sale to defense contractor to raises questions

By: Wire Reports -

SAN DIEGO - A defense contractor bought Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's Del Mar home in November 2003 and sold it nearly nine months later at a $700,000 loss, it was reported today.

At the time, the Republican congressman was supporting Mitchell Wade and his firm MZM Inc. in efforts to win Pentagon contracts, The San Diego Union- Tribune reported.

Cunningham used the proceeds from the sale to buy a home in Ranch Santa Fe for about $2.5 million, the newspaper reported.


About the same time, Wade's company, which had been suffering through a flat period, was awarded tens of millions of dollars in defense and intelligence-related contracts, according to the Union-Tribune.


NOTE THIS IS A FOLLOWUP ARTICLE TO ONE POSTED YESTERDAY IN LBN
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x1542663

[Inland]

31. Well, that doesn't prove anything.

We all know the real estate market in CA is cold, everyone is selling at a loss. Right? Right?