November 28, 2005

AP: Cunningham Cops A Plea

The AP reports that Rep. Duke Cunningham (R-CA) will admit he violated the federal tax code...

Per the House's "Code of Official Conduct," Cunningham must "refrain from voting in the House until judicial or executive proceedings reinstate" his "presumption of innocence or until he is reelected to the House after his conviction." Thus with Cunningham having already declared that he will not seek re-election next year, his career in Congress effectively ended with his plea today. It remains to be seen if House will hold a vote on whether to expel Cunningham (a la Traficant) but expect Pelosi/Hoyer/Dean/Rahm to demand one before sundown.

An interesting side note to Cunningham's plea is that his resignation would immediately open up a seat on the always-in-demand House Appropriations Cmte. Look for the likes of Leadership loyalists Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and Jo Bonner (R-AL) to stake their claim to Cunningham's approps seat as soon as (and if) he tenders his resignation.

Posted at 01:37 PM

Comments

Post a comment