November 28, 2005

Mr. Duke Comes Home From Washington

From war hero (an Ace in Vietnam, where it was damn hard to be an ace) to corrupted confessed tax-evading influence peddler...



Shown here in happier days.

The NY Times sums up:

"Mr. Cunningham's plea adds to the ethics cloud over the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush White House.

"In the Senate, Bill Frist, Republican of Tennessee and the majority leader, is under scrutiny by the Securities and Exchange Commission for the timing of his trades in the stock of his family's health care company. In the House, Representative Tom DeLay, Republican of Texas, was forced to step down as majority leader after he was indicted on conspiracy and money laundering charges in his home state.

"In a separate Justice Department investigation, Michael Scanlon, a former spokesman for Mr. DeLay, pleaded guilty last week to bribery. Prosecutors said Mr. Scanlon was part of a conspiracy to defraud Indian tribes and win legislative favors from lawmakers in return for campaign donations, meals, entertainment and other benefits. A former White House aide has also been indicted in that investigation, which is centered around Jack Abramoff, a lobbyist and ally of Mr. DeLay who worked with Mr. Scanlon. As part of his plea, Mr. Scanlon agreed to cooperate in the investigation.

"In addition, I. Lewis Libby Jr., the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was indicted last month for perjury and false statements in the investigation of the leaking of the name of a C.I.A. operative. Other White House officials, including the senior political adviser Karl Rove, remain under investigation in that case."

4 Comments:

Blogger Viceroy De Los Osos said...

Man, I just saw his bio on Legends of Airpower. This guy was the real deal. He was awarded 15 air medals, more than most fighter squadrons combined.

Still, I am not so much apalled by his taking bribes as I am by the name of his yaht, "The Duke-ster"...Unforgivable.

November 28, 2005 at 7:54 PM  
Blogger VMM said...

I give him a lot of credit for being a Republican capable of shame. I salute him.

November 28, 2005 at 11:51 PM  
Blogger JAB said...

This old-fashioned sort of grotesque personal corruption is kind of quaint.

November 29, 2005 at 9:40 AM  
Blogger President in exile said...

It's always fun to pretend the illusions of media stereotyping are real-- but you're a chump if you think being able to shoot down a lot of planes makes you a moral person, or if you feel sorry for this crook. There are many other crooks in more need of pity who got a lot less than a Rolls Royce and a yacht, betrayed far less important principles, and will be punished far more severely.

November 30, 2005 at 9:46 AM  

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