| Topic: |
Politics > Politics-Democrats |
| User: |
"Obwon" |
| Date: |
01 Dec 2005 01:16:25 PM |
| Object: |
Republicans Denounce Ex-Lawmaker -- It's just Partisan Politics, NO??? |
The New York Times
November 30, 2005
Republicans Denounce Ex-Lawmaker
By JOHN M. BRODER and CARL HULSE
LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29 - Concerned that the stain of
former Representative Randy Cunningham's admission that
he took bribes and evaded taxes could damage the
party's prospects, President Bush and other Republican
leaders issued strong denunciations of Mr. Cunningham's
actions on Tuesday.
With several investigations focusing on top Republican
officials and growing public unease over the war in
Iraq and economic policy at home, party leaders moved
to distance themselves and their party from Mr.
Cunningham's felony plea.
Though some Republican officials said Democrats in
Congress were equally guilty of questionable behavior,
including lobbyist-paid trips and underreporting of
campaign contributions, they acknowledged that
Republicans, because they control the White House and
Congress, are being held to a higher standard by many
voters. They also expressed shock and embarrassment at
the extent of Mr. Cunningham's wrongdoing, which the
president described on Tuesday as "outrageous."
Mr. Bush, answering a question about Mr. Cunningham's
resignation from a reporter in El Paso, said members of
Congress must take their legal and ethical obligations
seriously.
"The idea of a congressman taking money is outrageous,"
the president said. "And Congressman Cunningham is
going to realize that he has broken the law and is
going to pay a serious price, which he should."
Mr. Cunningham, an eight-term representative from San
Diego, pleaded guilty on Monday to charges that he took
at least $2.4 million in bribes to steer Pentagon
contracts to two friends. He announced his resignation
from Congress hours after entering his plea.
Representative David Dreier, the California Republican
who heads the House Rules Committee, said Mr.
Cunningham had violated the ethical standards of the
House and was right to resign immediately.
"It is regretful that his great service to this country
has been tarred by his actions," Mr. Dreier said in a
statement.
The case intensified attention to charges of ethical
and legal violations by members of Congress, including
such influential leaders as Senator Bill Frist of
Tennessee, the Republican leader in the Senate, and
Representative Tom DeLay, the Texas Republican who was
forced to step down as majority leader after he was
indicted in Texas in September.
In addition, three of Mr. Cunningham's Republican
colleagues in California have drawn scrutiny for
possible violations of House ethics rules.
One of them, Representative John T. Doolittle, has
acknowledged that his wife, Julie, who runs a marketing
firm in Washington, has been subpoenaed in the federal
investigation of the former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Mr.
Doolittle's former chief of staff, Kevin A. Ring,
briefly worked for Mr. Abramoff after leaving Mr.
Doolittle's Congressional office.
Mr. Doolittle's press secretary, Laura Blackann, said
that Mr. Doolittle had not been contacted by the
Justice Department in connection with the Abramoff
investigation and that any dealings between the two men
were proper and legal.
Another California Republican, Representative Dana
Rohrabacher from Orange County, has acknowledged
receiving a $23,000 option on a screenplay from a
Hollywood producer who last month was charged with
multiple counts of fraud in connection with an
investment scheme.
Mr. Rohrabacher acknowledged introducing the producer,
Joseph Medawar, to several officials in Washington,
with the understanding that Mr. Medawar was working on
a television series about the Department of Homeland
Security.
Mr. Rohrabacher said that the House ethics committee
had approved his screenplay deal with Mr. Medawar and
that he was unaware of any possible fraud.
"I have not seen all the evidence," he said. "Whether
he is a flamboyant incompetent or he's a con man will
be determined by the jury."
A third California Republican, Representative Richard
W. Pombo, has been criticized by Democrats as failing
to report the value of two foreign trips paid for by a
lobby group, paying family members from political
accounts, and accepting campaign contributions from Mr.
Abramoff and Mr. DeLay.
Mr. Pombo dismissed the accusations as partisan
attacks.
Karen Hanretty, communications director for the
California Republican Party, said the attacks were part
of a broader assault on Republicans.
"There's always a roomful of researchers who are
digging up dirt on the opposition," Ms. Hanretty said,
"and that's just part of the political game, whether
it's at the state level or the national level."
"The party that holds power in D.C. always comes under
greater scrutiny," she said.
But accusations of ethical violations pale beside Mr.
Cunningham's admitted criminal conduct.
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.
Under the plea deal, Mr. Cunningham has to forfeit the
house, $1.8 million in cash, and all the rugs and
antiques.
Carol C. Lam, the United States attorney for the
Southern District of California, called Mr.
Cunningham's actions "a crime of unprecedented
magnitude and extraordinary audacity." Ms. Lam said the
investigation was continuing.
Calls to Mr. Cunningham's office were not returned. He
made no public appearances on Tuesday.
John M. Broder reported from Los Angeles for this
article, and Carl Hulse from Washington.
0[ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ]0
Liars share with those they deceive
the desire not to be deceived.
--Sissela Bok
0[ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ]0
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