Republican Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham has pleaded guilty in federal court
to income tax violations.

This  from the

AP:

Rep. Cunningham Pleads Guilty

Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham pleaded guilty to conspiracy and tax
violations after an investigation of the California Republican’s home sale.

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.

He made his plea known at a hearing in federal court in San Diego on
Monday.

Cunningham, 63, is an eight-term congressman and Vietnam War flying ace.

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.

Cunningham and his wife, Nancy, used the proceeds from the sale to buy a
$2.55 million mansion in ritzy Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.

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.

Around the same time, MZM was winning valuable defense contracts at a
time when Cunningham sat on the House Appropriations subcommittee that
controls defense dollars. In 2004 the little-known company based in
Washington, D.C., tripled its revenue and nearly quadrupled its staff,
according to information posted on the company Web site.

Though he denied wrongdoing when he announced in July that he wouldn’t
seek re-election, Cunningham himself acknowledged that the sale didn’t look
good.

I am not sure on the rules of Congress but if a Congressman is guilty of a
crime like this I would suspect they should resign from Congress. If anyone
knows the rules please let me know.