Duke Pleads Guilty: When Will Congressional Republicans Return Cunningham’s Money?

Duke Cunningham Resigns After Pleading Guilty to Bribery Charges, Yet Dozens of Republican Members of Congress Hold Tight to Cunningham’s Cash Even After Some Republicans Have Returned Duke’s Money

Duke Cunningham: "I broke the law, concealed my conduct and disgraced my high office."

$1,000 Amount of Cunningham money returned by Republican Jim Nussle.

$9,000 Amount of Cunningham money returned by Republican Rob Simmons.

Congressional Republicans have taken $180,604 from Duke Cunningham and his PACs.

(Washington, D.C.) – Congressional Republicans have taken over $180,000 from Congressman Duke Cunningham, who this week, announced his guilt and resigned from Congress after pleading guilty to charges of accepting $2.4 million in bribes and gifts from defense contractors and evading more than $1 million in taxes. This is another example of the pay-to-play culture of corruption that has permeated the nation’s capital and American families deserve to know why some representatives in Congress refuse to return the money they received from Duke Cunningham. Already, at least two of their fellow Republicans have given back the tainted cash.

"Now that Duke Cunningham has pleaded guilty and resigned from Congress, why won't Republicans in Congress return tainted cash they've taken from Congressman Cunningham?" asked Bill Burton, communications director for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. "The American families they represent deserve better than the Republican Rubber Stamp Congress that walks in lock-step with their ethically challenged colleagues."

Culture of Corruption:

Duke Cunningham Resigns After Pleading Guilty to Bribery Charges. California Republican Randy "Duke" Cunningham resigned from Congress this week after pleading guilty to charges of accepting $2.4 million in bribes from defense contractors and evading more than $1 million in taxes. His resignation comes after months of denials and claims of his innocence. Cunningham came under suspicion for accepting these bribes for military contracts especially because of his role as chairman of the influential House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee and member of the House Intelligence Committee.