Did Duke Cunningham take a bribe for defense contracts?

[MindPilot]

sure looks like it. This is an editorial from the San Diego Union Tribune whose editors are usually in total lockstep with the Rs-can-do-no-wrong meme.


Did an ambitious defense contractor purchase Republican Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's Del Mar house for $700,000 more than it was worth, in exchange for the congressman's help in winning tens of millions of dollars in Pentagon business?

<snip>

The essential facts are not in dispute. In November 2003 Cunningham sold the house to Wade for $1.675 million. The congressman used the profits to purchase a $2.55 million home in Rancho Santa Fe. Within a month of buying the Del Mar house, Wade put it up for sale. Eight months later, amid San Diego's surging real estate market, he sold it for $975,000 – taking a substantial loss of $700,000.

But the defense contractor, with offices in Washington, D.C., isn't complaining. Around the time he purchased Cunningham's house, Wade's company began to secure large contracts with the Department of Defense, increasing its Pentagon business by tens of millions of dollars. In all, its revenues tripled in 2004.


http://www.signonsandiego.com/uniontrib/20050614/news_lz1ed14top.html

[jaysunb]

1. Sure he did...

n/t

[ewagner]

2. This doesn't pass the "smell test"

Randy was supposedly the Navy pilot that Top Gun was based on...even to the detail of the circus stunt maneuver to get a Mig off his tail..... but I lost all respect for him when he became a Repub....and one of the worst repubs at that....

I hope the Ethics Committee looks into this.

[livetohike]

3. Definitely,imo

Must be the only house in San Diego County that sold for a loss.

Francine Busby is challenging Duke again in the 50th. It's not my district, but I will volunteer for her.

http://www.busbyforcongress.com

[pscot]

4. Quack

There are numerous ducklike attributes. Quack.

[Liberty Belle]

5. If the GOP-backed Union Trib is calling for an investigation,

you know something's really rotten.

[cascadiance]

6. Now if we can just get something fresh on Darryl Issa...

He's got a lot of car thievery allegations in his past, but something new would let us have a trifecta of noise that we can start rattling sabres around here in San Diego with local Rethug congress critters. With Duncan Hunter also sticking his foot in his mouth on the Guantanamo Bay menu, we're got a lot of ammunition to do a house cleaning soon!

[cascadiance]

7. Well Issa now is trying to defend Cunningham with a lot of lame excuses!

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/06/21/news/politics/62005205236.txt