Duke Cunningham

Cunningham: I'm a Liar and a Crook

Paul Kiel | July 18, 2007, 10:54AM

Even after Duke Cunningham pled guilty to accepting millions in bribes, he'd still tried to cast himself as somehow less than thoroughly greedy and corrupt. He'd accepted gifts from defense contractors, yes, and sure, he'd been instrumental in procuring tens of millions in government contracts for them, but that doesn't mean they were bribes.

Well, a year in prison seems to have clarified things for Cunningham. Investigators sat down with him in February of this year, and as the FBI's summary, obtained by The San Diego Union-Tribune, shows, Cunningham was straightforward about the extent of his corruption: He asked for, got, and worked to conceal bribes.

That's bad news for Brent Wilkes, who's been indicted for bribing Cunningham. Wilkes has gamely argued that he didn't bribe Cunningham, so much as play the game the way it has to be played. "Transactional lobbying," is Wilkes' name for it, and that's apparently what he plans to argue to a jury -- that he was extorted, that he was a victim of Washington's culture.

Unfortunately for Wilkes, Cunningham says the two went to an awful lot of trouble to conceal their activity. As the Union-Trib points out, that means Cunningham will likely make an appearance at Wilkes' trial as an unfriendly witness. Cunningham also confirms that Wilkes procured prostitutes for the both of them during a trip to Hawaii, something that Wilkes has denied (Cunningham says that Wilkes took the “younger and cuter” one for himself).

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Duke Cunningham

Dems Help Bury Committee Report on Duke's Doings

Paul Kiel | July 16, 2007, 10:30AM

Through his seat on the House intelligence committee from 2001 through 2006, ex-Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) was able to funnel between $70 and $80 million in taxpayer dollars to his favored contractors. And it didn't matter that both Mitch Wade, who's pled guilty to bribing Cunningham, and Brent Wilkes, who's been indicted for bribing him, didn't have much in the way of qualifications. That's because Cunningham's colleagues on the committee stayed mum as Cunningham funneled project after bogus project to them.

Cunningham's doings were no secret. At one point, a committee aide even sent out a staff e-mail about one of Wade's program, saying, "HOOAH! Another $5 million of taxpayer money wasted."

Members of the committee are still trying to keep the sham quiet, reports The Los Angeles Times.

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Brent Wilkes

Celeb Lawyer Thrown off Wilkes Case

Paul Kiel | July 10, 2007, 2:43PM

From The San Diego Union-Tribune:

Mark Geragos, the high-profile lawyer for indicted Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes, was removed from the case by a federal judge yesterday because he refused to go through a background check that would allow him to see classified information.

Wilkes, remember, is accused of bribing Dusty Foggo, the former executive director of the CIA. Without access to classified information, Geragos couldn't represent his client, prosecutors said. But Geragos, who represented Michael Jackson, Gary Condit, and other celebrities, took a stand, telling the judge, “I am just not going to, under any circumstances, submit myself to a security clearance so I can represent my client in federal district court." So the judge tossed him off the case. The Union-Trib says that Geragos may appeal.

That puts Wilkes, who's indicted for bribing Duke Cunningham in addition to Foggo, in a jam. Before Cunningham went down in 2005, Wilkes was swimming in government contracts. But it's been a long time, and Geragos, you can be sure, doesn't come cheap. Wilkes told the judge that his resources were "stretched beyond the point of breaking," the SDUT reports.

But that wasn't all the bad news Wilkes had yesterday.

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