There's an interesting article in today's Roanoke Times about how Virgil Goode (R-5th Congressional District) "is considering requests that he return campaign contributions from a company linked to a bribery and fraud scandal." That would be MZM Inc., the defense company that was caught bribing indicted Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-CA) in exchange for contracts. "Duke" who formally resigned yesterday from Congress. This past Monday:
Cunningham pleaded guilty...to taking $2.4 million in bribes, mostly from defense contractors, in exchange for steering government business their way. The bribes came in the form of cash, antiques, access to a yacht, a Rolls-Royce, help with mortgages and other gifts.
Interestingly, Congressman Goode (pictured here with former MZM CEO Mitchell Wade) had basically nothing to say about Cunningham's confession to accepting bribes from MZM. Maybe Goode thinks that if he says nothing, the problem will go away? Or if he returns the money, everything will be fine? Only one problem: the investigation into the MZM scandal is only just beginning. According to the AP:
...Cunningham, who could get up to 10 years in prison at sentencing Feb. 27 on charges of conspiracy to commit bribery and fraud, and tax evasion, may not be the only person ensnared in the case. Prosecutors have indicated they have more than him in mind."There's more work to be done,'' Assistant U.S. Attorney Phillip Halpern said Monday. Cunningham has promised to cooperate.
This news can't be good for Goode, that's for sure. Still, to date there does not appear to be any "smoking gun" linking Goode to any quid pro quo with MZM. And, according to the Roanoke Times:
Two political analysts said that barring the unlikely event of an indictment, questions surrounding the contributions won't hurt Goode's political standing in the 5th District.
However, although there's no "smoking gun" yet, there's certainly a lot of (suspicious looking) smoke! Like, why did Goode accept more than $80,000 in campaign contributions from MZM employees over the last two election cycles? Why did Goode receive these contributions in bunches, as Waldo Jaquith has laid out in great detail. Why did former MZM employees say they were "pressured" into donating to the company's political fund? And why has Goode been so concerned with drafting legislation aimed specifically at benefitting MZM, even against Pentagon objections?
I don't know, but it's all very strange. This is the same Virgil Goode who, according to Emory & Henry College President Tom Morris, has a reputation as a "squeaky clean and old-fashioned" politician?
Of course, as Mark Shields noted last night on the NewsHour about the other major MZM money recipient, Randy "Duke" Cunningham, "...this is a man who had been a top gun pilot, a Navy filer, an ace in Vietnam, a hero. What he decided to do was to trade and traffic in the safety of American troops" by possibly "going to mediocre, bogus companies" (like MZM?) in order to combat the "improvised explosive devices" (IEDs) that are killing U.S. Marines in Iraq.
If Randy "Duke" Cunningham, top gun and hero, could fall this low, then what about Virgil Goode, no matter how "squeaky clean and old fashioned" he might appear to be? Stay tuned...
[UPDATE: According to the Democratic National Committee, "Rep. Virgil Goode... along with more than two dozen other members of Congress, signed a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Feb 27., 2002, that helped lobbyist Jack Abramoff's clients." Hmmm....]