The Wrong Stuff: The Extraordinary Saga of Randy "Duke" Cunningham, the Most Corrupt Congressman Ever Caught

by Marcus Stern, Jerry Kammer, Dean Calbreath

Duke Cunningham was an All-American success story. The Midwestern boy who went off to war, became a hero, and rode his fame into Congress even bragged that Tom Cruise played him in a popular movie. But the fall of this "Top Gun" was almost as epic and just as cinematic. Today he sits in prison, branded as the most corrupt member of Congress in U.S. history. To the public, Cunningham was a heroic family man. In reality, he was a hard-drinking, partisan bully with a lavish sense of entitlement and feckless moral compass. He partnered with rogues like Brent Wilkes and Mitch Wade, and together they hatched a grandiose plan to get rich wrapping themselves in the flag. Over time, Cunningham fed Wilkes and Wade tens of millions of dollars in vital post-9/11 contracts in exchange for millions in bribes. Their clubhouse was a yacht tied up along the Potomac River. From there, they traveled the city in limos, flew in private jets, and hosted all-night parties at posh hotels. Their funding came from "earmarks" in classified military contracts that were supposed to protect our troops in Iraq—not be squandered on booze and beautiful women, on yachts and jets. Now, members of the team that won the 2006 Pulitzer Prize for sending Cunningham to prison uncover new details in a story still unfolding in Washington. The Wrong Stuff chronicles Cunningham's rise and his sordid fall. It is the saga of a man who came to believe his own press clippings and developed an enormous sense of self-entitlement, a man strong enough to brave enemy fire but too weak to resist the corrupt contractors and lobbyists in the nation's capital. It is also the story of the shadowy side of Washington today. More than just the story of one crooked politician, this is an inside look at how our system allowed this to happen. The Wrong Stuff provides the context for Cunningham's misdeeds and shows that more than one man's venality was involved. Indeed, there were things darkly wrong with Washington that invited Cunningham—and others—to steal, often putting American soldiers and Marines at risk during wartime. If you want to understand the recent outcry over congressional corruption, then you need to understand how Cunningham and his contractor friends used the government to enrich themselves. This penetrating, witty, and gossipy analysis of how they stole and how they got caught makes for a fascinating read with a lesson for all Americans.

Genres: Politics

344 pages, Hardcover

First published May 22, 2007

Reviews

[Joey · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Wrong Stuff is an overview of the Duke Cunningham case from many of the reporters who worked the original story. Half Duke Cunningham biography and half new story the book gives a good accounting of the scandal and it's many details.

Unfortunately the book feels full of needless filler, side stories, and fleshing out of figures that hardly make an impact on the actual focus. The reader is left with a slew of names, acronyms, and fine details that are hard to parse and even harder to remember. Furthermore, the actual investigation —rather than being woven into the story — is shoved in at the end, feeling a bit abridged. The result is a book that while chronological, lacks an engaging narrative flow. It it is less a book and more a 300 page Union-Tribune article.

[Eugenia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating account of Duke Cunningham's incredible greed and the systems in Washington that allowed it and fed it.

[Charla Campbell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very interesting

[Cat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Earmarks. Pork. Even Christmas tree ornaments.

They're all phrases used to describe those troublesome -- but totally necessary -- chunks of money that lawmakers send home to their districts every year.

They are the stuff of a guaranteed re-election, the proverbial bringing home of the bacon. No one forgets a Congressman or Senator who always delivers the funding for better roads, bigger schools, a museum or two.

Earmarks also happen to be what got Randy "Duke" Cunningham in so much hot water. As a top dog on the House Appropriations Committee, Cunningham used his power to appropriate billions for a couple of defense contactors --and got houses, yachts and a lavish lifestyle in return.

Written by the Pulitzer-prize winning journalists who exposed Cunningham's long overlooked sleaze, the Wrong Stuff is not only about the years building up to Cunningham's downfall, it's also a perfect window into a federal system that, when used incorrectly, breeds greed and corruption.

Here's how it works: Congress passes one annual funding bill for every federal department, like the Department of Homeland Security. In the months leading up to the writing of those bills, lawmakers are blitzed with funding requests from companies, constituents or the lobbyists that represent them. Conveniently, people requesting the money have typically contributed to the lawmaker's re-election campaign.

In the early spring, lawmakers submit funding requests which can be as ridiculous as "1$ million for salmon baby-food research," which was an earmark requested by Ted Stevens of Alaska in the fiscal 2007 Agriculture Appropriations bill. A little sleuthing revealed that the $1 million in taxpayer money would go to one company trying to launch a new line of salmon-based foods. As a rule, a funding recipient cannot be named in bill. But like Stevens' earmark, they can be so narrowly written, so specific, that the department in charge of the cash will have no choice by to give it to the only company engaged in that business.

And if a lawmaker doesn't see his or her earmark requests in the final funding bill, they may not vote for the overall measure. So, it's pretty clear that this process is very important to getting things done.

That's exactly how Cunningham cultivated relationships with a handful of defense lobbyists. Not only did the lobbyists make enormous contributions to Cunningham's campaign, they also wined him, dined him, bought his houses, furniture and yachts. In return, Cunningham made sure millions were set aside in the Department of Defense appropriations bill to fund those lobbyists' obscure projects.

Clearly, it’s one thing to take a meal with a lobbyist, it’s another to accept – and demand, as Cunningham did – a house.

Anxious to reverse the image of corruption that people like Cunningham, William Jefferson and Jack Abramoff cultivated, the Democratic Congress has crafted new rules about the lawmaker/lobbyist relationship, which includes limits on how much a lobbyist can spend on a lawmaker's meal. Lawmakers must also reveal exactly which earmarks they request.

But it's unclear if these new rules will actually work or if they'll have any lasting impact on the system; Democrats are just as reliant on earmarks as Republicans are. And lobbyists, equally as complicit in the dance, are not going anywhere.

What the Wrong Stuff so successfully reveals is that the appropriations system is both extremely effective but extremely prone to corruption. Maybe I am a cynical congressional reporter, but I frankly doubt that any number of rule changes will keep lawmakers from finding a loophole, a novel way around the system. So, if the system is basically here to stay, it's a lawmakers' responsibility to do their money-grubbing honestly -- without landing themselves in jail as Cunningham has.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Detailed recounting of the bribes taken by San Diego Congressman Randy Duke Cunningham from contractors directly benefitting from earmarks for items the govt didn't need or ask for that he placed in spending bills. I followed this in the newspaper when it happened, this book expands the information and places it in context. Greed and corruption by our elected officials - not our polity's greatest moment.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an amazing story about Duke Cunningham, a former Navy Ace and congressman.

[Kevin Humphrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Go Navy! It was sad to see one of the Navy's best go down the wrong road.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yet another tale of corruption and greed in Washington.