California Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham announced he will not seek re-election.
From the San Diego Tribune:
The eight-term North County Republican read a brief written statement and did not take questions before ducking back into a library on the California State University, San Marcos campus.
“The time has come for me to conclude the public chapter in my life,” Cunningham said. “Quite simply, right now I may not be the strongest candidate.”
Meanwhile, subpoenas were issued:
Two members and two employees of a Washington, D.C., yacht club where Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham lived aboard a defense contractor’s boat have been subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury in San Diego investigating the congressman, according to a person with knowledge of the plans.
The four who are flying to San Diego to testify Monday are the first witnesses known to be appearing before the federal panel that is gathering evidence on the eight-term Republican from Del Mar and his dealings with defense contractor MZM Inc.
The group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) says not seeking re-election is not enough:
“Given the ever-lengthening list of Representative Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s unethical and potentially criminal acts, it is not sufficient for the Congressman to do nothing more than announce that he will not seek another term,” Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said today. “Rep. Cunningham’s conduct is so beyond the pale as to require nothing less than his immediate resignation. His constituents deserve a Member of Congress who can concentrate on the district’s issues, rather than one who will be spending his time focusing on his criminal defense.”
“Today’s announcement should have no effect on the pending Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service and Department of Defense investigations into Rep. Cunningham and a member of the House of Representatives should file an ethics complaint against him with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct.”
CREW is preparing an ethics complaint against Cunningham, which will be released Friday morning.
CREW filed a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request on June 20, 2005 with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and with the Department of Defense to garner any communications between Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-CA) and Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) regarding defense contractor MZM, Inc. and the company’s president, Mitchell Wade, from January 1, 2001, to the present.
More information about CREW:
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) is a non-profit, progressive legal watchdog group dedicated to holding public officials accountable for their actions. CREW drafted the complaint against Tom DeLay, filed by former Congressman Chris Bell, for which DeLay was admonished last year.
