Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

What the Post didn’t tell you

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by

James A. Bacon
in

From today’s Washington Post:

Grand Jury Demands Lawmaker’s Documents
Investigation Centers On Ties to Contractor
By Renae Merle and Jeffrey H. Birnbaum
Washington Post Staff Writers
Wednesday, June 29, 2005; D01

A federal grand jury in Southern California has subpoenaed documents from Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham, his lawyer said yesterday in a written statement. Prosecutors have been examining the congressman’s relationship with Mitchell J. Wade, the owner of District-based defense contractor MZM Inc.

In 2003, Wade bought the California Republican’s home near San Diego for $1.675 million. He later resold it for a $700,000 loss. For the past year, Cunningham has been living rent-free while in Washington on a 42-foot yacht owned by Wade.
The congressman, a member of the House Appropriations Committee’s defense subcommittee, said last week that he showed “poor judgment” in his dealings with Wade but that he had done nothing wrong. He said he supported funding intelligence programs but gave no preferential treatment to MZM.

Then this on the jump page of the story: The firm’s management has been in flux in recent weeks. Wade stepped aside earlier this month because of the investigation and was replaced by Frank Bragg Jr. and Kay Coles James, who served as chief executive and chief operating officer, respectively. Bragg, who previously served as MZM’s chief operating officer, and James, the former director of the Office of Personnel Management, “voluntarily resigned,” the statement said.

What the Post didn’t tell you: Kay Cole James was Virginia’s Secretary of Health and Human Services under Governor George Allen, is a former dean at Pat Robertson’s Regent University, was a member of the Fairfax County School Board, the Virginia State Board of Education and served on the board of directors of the Coalitioin of Christian Colleges and Universities, the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Focus on the Family and the Center for Jewish and Christian Values.

Love those Christian values, Ms. James! So tell us, what did you know about this cozy arrangement with ‘Duke,’ and when did you know it?

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Comments

  1. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    Anyone who could buy a house in Southern California in this over-heated market and sell it for a $700,000 loss has some explaining to do!

  2. Bishop Cannon Avatar
    Bishop Cannon

    There may be more of a Virginia connection than just Ms. James. Check out fellow VA Pol blogger Waldo’s evidence implicating Congressman Virgil Goode at http://waldo.jaquith.org/blog/2005/06/goode-contributions-coerced/

    The plot thickens…

  3. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    What was that line when Paul Newman played the other Governor Long (not Huey) of Louisiana? “I don’t buy congressmen, it’s cheaper to rent them?” Maybe a straight buy is a better deal these days.

  4. James Atticus Bowden Avatar
    James Atticus Bowden

    I am confident that Mrs. James’s Christian values are in good order. But, let’s say that she was investigated and found guilty of a crime. Her values would still be in order. Her behavior would be found to have fallen below the standards she supports publically. It’s what Christians call ‘sin’. News flash: all humans except one Jesus of Nazareth sin. Actually, that is every tense of the verb ‘to sin’. Any person’s personal failings doesn’t invalidate their ideals they fail to reach. Or, did Bill Clinton’s failings totally invalidate every Liberal idea he espoused? I don’t think so. Liberalism is weak and fails on its own merits, just as Christianity on its own ideas -stands. The imperfect people who support ANY side imperfectly reflect the values of their ideas in their lives.

  5. Jeremy Hinton Avatar
    Jeremy Hinton

    A couple discrepancies i noticed from other reports. From Marcus Stern’s June 28th article in the San Diego Union-Tribune:

    Kay Cole James, MZM’s senior executive vice president for national security transformation, also resigned on Friday. She had only joined the company last month.

    If the above is accurate, it’s quite possible she wasn’t aware of the depth of MZM’s involvement with Cunningham (and Harris and Goode). Word is MZM was paying top dollar for people (no irony intended), so i’m sure someone with her background and connections would have been viewed as a strong asset and offered a very generous compensation package. That could cause someone not to do the most diligent investigation of their potential employer.

    And to JAB, i didn’t interpret Barnie’s comment as mocking Christian values, just mocking Mrs. James apparent hypocrisy considering her prior activities. Even that was pretty premature though IMHO. I actually tend to think think it was more of a “wrong place, wrong time” situation, and she bailed when she realized what was going on. I suppose as this story snowballs we may learn if that was the case or not.

  6. Paul Avatar
    Paul

    I must admit that I haven’t been following this story. And here’s why:

    I saw Farenheit 9-11, which had so many bogus and BS “connections” between shady businessmen that I’ve grown jaded by these types of allegations. This is what the kooky portions of the left do. They pound these ridiculous scandals (Bush’s father shook a Saudi guy’s hand! They must control him! Some of Bush’s friends sat on boards with some friends of friends of friends of people who know the Saudis!) and the real scandals get lost in the noise.

  7. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Do a quick check of the “campaign donations” provided to Rep. Goode by MZM over the last three cycles and try to tell me that these guys don’t act in suspicious fashion.

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