Handing Out Guilty Pleas...

on the streets of DC...

Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham will plead guilty to tax violations, a person close to the investigation of the California Republican has told The Associated Press.

Cunningham has been under investigation since his sale of his home to a defense contractor at an apparently inflated price in 2003 attracted the attention of federal investigators.

A hearing in the case was scheduled in federal court in San Diego on Monday, and two people close to the investigation said Cunningham would enter a guilty plea. One of those people said he would plead to tax violations related to the home sale.

In November 2003, he sold his Del Mar, Calif., home to defense contractor Mitchell Wade for $1,675,000. Wade put the house back on the market and sold it after nearly a year for $975,000 — a loss of $700,000 in one of the nation's hottest housing markets.

Wade also let Cunningham live rent-free on his yacht, the Duke Stir, at the Capital Yacht Club. His firm, MZM Inc., donated generously to Cunningham's campaigns.

The quo in that quid was that Mitchell Wade's contracting company, MZM, received millions in defense contracts - and Cunningham was the Congressman giving them out.

Maybe if all of these Republican Congressmen agree to plead guilty at the same time, we could hold the court hearings in the Capitol Rotunda for everyone's convenience!