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Politics
Lawmakers subpoenaed in California bribery trial
Associated Press
Published September 19, 2007
WASHINGTON - Former House Speaker Dennis Hastert, House Republican Whip Roy Blunt and 11 other members of Congress have been subpoenaed to testify in the trial of a defense contractor charged with bribing jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. All the lawmakers said they would not comply, on the advice of House attorneys. The House general counsel's office is preparing to move to quash the subpoenas after failing to get a clear explanation of why the lawmakers' testimony is needed, according to the chief of staff of subpoenaed Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif. The subpoenas were issued by attorneys for contractor Brent Wilkes, who faces trial Oct. 2 in San Diego on 25 counts of bribery, fraud, money laundering and conspiracy in connection with his relationship with Cunningham. Cunningham, a Republican who represented a California district in Congress, is serving an eight-year prison term after pleading guilty in 2005 to taking $2.4-million in bribes from Wilkes and others in exchange for millions of dollars in government contracts. In addition to Issa, Blunt, R-Mo., and Hastert, R-Ill., Wilkes' attorney, Mark Geragos, is seeking testimony from Rep. Jerry Weller, R-Ill.; House Intelligence Committee Chairman Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas.; House Armed Services Committee Chairman Ike Skelton, D-Mo.; House Appropriations defense subcommittee Chairman John Murtha, D-Pa.; California Republican Reps. Duncan Hunter, John Doolittle and Jerry Lewis; Republican Reps. Peter Hoekstra and Joe Knollenberg of Michigan; and House Appropriations interior subcommittee Chairman Norm Dicks, D-Wash. A number of the subpoenaed lawmakers received campaign donations or other favors from Wilkes. Wilkes was a generous donor who raised at least $100,000 for President Bush's 2004 re-election bid and provided flights on his private jet to lawmakers including Blunt and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay of Texas. No other lawmakers have been implicated in the Cunningham scandal, and it was not immediately clear what information Geragos was after.
[Last modified September 19, 2007, 10:11:50]
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