Report: Cunningham used position to steer contracts toward those who bribed him

17 Oct 2006 // WASHINGTON – Convicted former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham used his post on the House Intelligence Committee to authorize $70 million to $80 million in funding for projects requested by defense contractors who bribed him, according to a report released by the committee's top Democrat on Tuesday.

In the fullest accounting of how Cunningham used the Intelligence Committee to further his conspiracy, a summary of the findings of a committee investigation concluded that Cunningham and defense contractors Mitchell Wade and Brent Wilkes “repeatedly sought to use (the committee) to facilitate the objectives of the conspiracy, particularly through requests for congressional funding ("adds" or "earmarks'" that benefited Wilkes, Wade and other companies.”

Cunningham was able to steer contracts to favored companies – including MZM and Poway-based ADCS – despite suspicions by committee staffers that some of the spending was suspect and a “waste of taxpayer money,” according to the report.

One former committee staffer, Brant Bassett, had close relationships with Wilkes, Cunningham and Kyle “Dusty” Foggo, the former No. 3 official at the CIA who is under federal investigation for his ties to Wilkes, committee investigators found.

Bassett, who worked with Foggo at the CIA, introduced Foggo to key Intelligence Committee staff members and they “sought to motivate various (committee) members to take desired actions by, among other things, providing them with gifts of 'government trinkets' such as a carpet emblazoned with the words 'Global War on Terror.' ”

Foggo also introduced Bassett to an unnamed business executive as Bassett was thinking about leaving the committee for the private sector in 2003, the report found. The business executive is also under investigation in the Foggo case.

While the investigators said they could not determine whether there was any wrongdoing involved in the gifts or the meeting, they recommended further investigation.

In a statement accompanying the executive summary, Rep. Jane Harman of Venice, the ranking Democrat on the committee, criticized Committee Chairman Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., for refusing to subpoena Cunningham, who is serving more than eight years in prison on conspiracy and tax evasion charges. In his plea agreement, Cunningham admitted accepting more than $2.4 million in bribes from Wade and Wilkes.

“A subpoena will increase the likelihood that we will obtain Cunningham's testimony and his cooperation. Given the extent of the damage he caused the taxpayers and our committee, sparing Cunningham the embarrassment of having to assert his Fifth Amendment rights is not a goal our minority members and I share.”

The House Appropriations Committee, on which Cunningham also served, has rebuffed requests for information from Intelligence Committee investigators. The appropriations committee is headed by Rep. Jerry Lewis, R-Redlands, who is reportedly under federal investigation for his ties to a lobbyist who secured funding from the committee for his clients.

The Defense Department, which managed many of the programs for which Wilkes and Wade received contracts, “has been unwilling to share additional information to date, due to the pending criminal investigations,” the report said.

In 2003, Cunningham secured crucial Intelligence Committee support for a new initiative in the Pentagon's top-secret Counterintelligence Field Activity, or CIFA, program, to be run by MZM.

“Because of Cunningham's insistence, (committee) staff agreed to support this project, despite staff's concerns that it was a 'pork barrel' project and a waste of taxpayer money,” the committee investigators concluded.

“Over time, staff learned of numerous 'red flags' associated with the counterintelligence project, including frequently expressed questions about the ethics and integrity of Wade, doubts about the value of the project and MZM's performance, and grave concerns about the propriety of the Cunningham-Wade relationship,” the report said. “Despite these red flags, the responsible staff members continued to accept and support Cunningham's growing requests for this project from” fiscal year 2003 to fiscal year 2006.

However, the investigators said they found no evidence that committee staffers profited from the funding requests or were aware of the bribery scheme.

Wade has admitted to bribing Cunningham and is cooperating with prosecutors as he awaits sentencing in the case. Wilkes has denied wrongdoing.