Federal government files lawsuit against U.S. rep (Duke) seeking house

[Ernesto]

"Top Gun" is about to go down in flames.
SAN DIEGO (AP) - The federal government has filed a lawsuit against U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham that alleges he should forfeit his home because it was purchased with ill-gotten funds."Please take notice," the document reads, "that a civil lawsuit is now pending in the United States District Court ... which involves title to (Cunningham's house)." The document also cites a violation that pertains to bribery and conflicts of interest.

http://www.sacbee.com/state_wire/story/13433730p-14274894c.html

[Richard Steele]

1. They are breaking all speed records with this case!

Trying to get him GONE in time for his replacement to campaign in 06?

[cascadiance]

3. At this point the Rethugs have what they want...

They have a commitment that he won't run in 2006, which allows them to line up their folks to take his place. A one-on-one battle in 2006 between a Dem and Rethug would be hard for a Dem to win. Still a lot of Rethugs here. They knew that he would lose then, but a new candidate could potentially win.

Getting him *out* of office before then (by forcing him to resign) won't do the Rethugs any good. All it will do is either force an early special "open" election, where a plurality of votes could win the seat (which would give a Dem like Francine Busby a lot greater chance at winning), if he resigns before February. If he resigns after February, the seat stays open until 2006, and they lose a vote in the House until then.

Any "acceleration" toward getting him out of office now is something good for Dems.

[livetohike]

2. Hit him in his very deep pockets

Shame him right out of San Diego County. It's the least that can be done. Prison would be nice.

[Oerdin]

4. The sad truth is...

this guy will never see the inside of a jail for his corruption. It's so obvious he's been taking bribes yet these guys never have anything happen to them and in the end the worst case scenario for him is he might have to give the $700,000 back. :rolleyes:

The rich and powerful never seem to have anything happen to them. Shaming him is all we can really do.

[livetohike]

5. We can only hope

:-). But when a conservative paper like the Union-Tribune keeps the story on their front page, maybe we have some hope that Duke will be the poster boy for being the first to go to jail.

[Oerdin]

6. I'm seeing the UT as centrist.

The paper just doesn't strike me as a conservative paper. They don't make shit up like Faux News does nor do they spin stuff and instead they do the classic 1930's he said she said reporting and leave conclusions to the readers. I personally find this deficient because they don't point out obvious errors in one side's thinking but you can't really claim they're taking sides or spinning anything either. The UT's editorials are fairly conservative but that's because more conservatives bother to submite stories.

If liberals would submit editorial pieces then we'd likely see more left leaning pieces printed.

[cascadiance]

7. The guy they have had managing the news sections of their web site...

was one that helped start the San Jose Mercury News web site a few years back. I used to work for his organization when I still lived up in the Bay Area at one point. He's certainly not a heavy liberal, but I wouldn't call him a heavy conservative by any means either. He seems kind of middle of the road as one should be in that job. I don't think he's responsible as much for content decisions, but perhaps gets in a little decision-making on policies for editorials on the site.