Cunningham Mess Continues In Congress

Randy "Duke" Cunningham has behind bars for a while now, but the stench of his corruption is still lingering in the halls of Congress. The House Intelligence Committee blocked their findings last year, not surprising for Republicans. Yet the Democrats are continuing to put a hold on the information. Congressman Silvestre Reyes (D-TX) is the current chairman of the committee and made the outrageous remark that the information shouldn't be let out because it criticizes staffers. What a crock of shit. You work for the people, not for the egos of staffers or most likely your own precious image.

From The Los Angeles Times

The report provides the most detailed account to date of how former CIA Executive Director Kyle Dustin "Dusty" Foggo, whose indictment on charges of defrauding the government was recently expanded, allegedly used committee connections to advance his career at the agency.

And the report sheds new light on the roles of senior committee aides, including retired CIA case officer Brant Bassett, who had ties to Cunningham and Foggo as well as to contractors accused of paying the congressman millions of dollars.

Overall, the document provides a penetrating look into how the committee itself became central to the scandal, describing an atmosphere in which senior aides were deeply troubled by Cunningham's actions but nevertheless complied with his requests out of fear.

But the report and committee members' ongoing disagreement over whether it should be released also reflect the political currents still swirling around the scandal.

There are many corrupt political figures tied to this mess. Former CIA Director Porter Goss, Foggo and Wilkes are well known for those that pay attention to the story. The underlying story is that almost everyone in Congress and especially on this committee knew this activity went on. They were complicit in it and probably shut up because they had their own ethical problems when it came to earmarks and political payoffs.

The cesspool that is Congress still has a long road of cleanup ahead of it.