Swing State Project

Washington, DC – "Given the ever-lengthening list of Representative Randy "Duke" Cunningham’s unethical and potentially criminal acts, it is not sufficient for the Congressman to do nothing more than announce that he will not seek another term," Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said today. "Rep. Cunningham’s conduct is so beyond the pale as to require nothing less than his immediate resignation. His constituents deserve a Member of Congress who can concentrate on the district’s issues, rather than one who will be spending his time focusing on his criminal defense."

Sloan also expressed skepticism about Rep. Cunningham's decision to donate some of the proceeds of the sale of his house to charity, "as a former prosecutor, I can't help but think that the reason Rep. Cunningham is selling his mansion and donating part of the profits to charity is to make himself more sympathetic before a potential sentencing judge."

"Today’s announcement should have no effect on the pending Department of Justice, Internal Revenue Service and Department of Defense investigations into Rep. Cunningham and a member of the House of Representatives should file an ethics complaint against him with the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct."

CREW is preparing an ethics complaint against Cunningham, which will be released Friday morning.

More to come...