After ex-Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) resigned in disgrace this week, acknowledging that he conspired to accept $2.4 million in bribes, it seemed the only remaining question was how long Cunningham would stay behind bars. As it turns out, there may be more to Cunningham’s corruption than just his Rolls Royce and 19th-century Louis-Philippe commode.
The House Intelligence Committee plans to investigate whether former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who pleaded guilty this week to bribery and tax evasion, abused his position on the panel to steer contracts to favored companies, the committee’s chairman said Wednesday.
Rep. Peter Hoekstra (R-Mich.) said the committee would examine whether Cunningham had influenced spending on classified programs to benefit companies that offered him bribes, as well as whether he had used his access to classified information to give such companies an advantage.
“He’s pleaded guilty to some very, very serious charges,” Hoekstra said in a telephone interview. “At this point, he no longer gets the benefit of the doubt. We now need to look at worst-case scenarios.”
Most of the attention surrounding Cunningham’s conduct has focused on his work on the House Appropriations subcommittee on defense, which he apparently used to reward his friends in exchange for gifts and cash. But this new wrinkle raises questions about what Cunningham may have done as a member of the House Intelligence Committee, which as the LA Times noted, “sets the broad spending priorities for the nation’s 15 spy agencies and oversees their clandestine activities around the world.”
Did Cunningham exploit his role on the panel to further line his pockets? There’s no evidence of that right now, but committee members from both parties clearly seem worried about it. Committee Chairman Hoekstra initiated an investigation two days ago, almost immediately after Cunningham announced his guilty plea, and ordered committee staffers to explore whether Cunningham may have misused his authority in that committee as well.
“I would look at any phone calls or letters or contact between Cunningham’s office and the CIA contracting officer [or officials at other spy agencies] to see whether there was inappropriate influence,” said one former senior House Intelligence Committee aide.
As if the Cunningham fiasco weren’t awful enough already….