Duke Cunningham
Randall Harold "Duke" Cunningham (December 8, 1941 – August 27, 2025) was an American Republican politician and Navy aviator during the Vietnam War.[1] He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from California between 1991 until his resignation 2005. He represented the 44th district (1991–1993), the 51st district (1993–2003) and the 50th district (2003–2005).
For his services during the Vietnam War, Cunningham was given two Silver Stars and a Purple Heart.
Scandals ended his political career. Duke Cunningham pleaded guilty to tax evasion, conspiracy to commit bribery and other charges.[2] He was then sentenced to prison in Tucson, Arizona.[3] He was released from prison in February 2013. He then moved to New Orleans to spend time inside a halfway house.[4]
Cunningham received a pardon from President Donald Trump on January 13, 2021.[5][6]
Cunningham was born in Los Angeles, California. He studied at the University of Missouri and at National University.
Cunningham married Susan Albrecht in 1965. They adopted a son together. His wife filed for divorce because of emotional abuse, and the divorce was approved eight months later.[7] Cunningham married his second wife, Nancy Jones, in 1974. They had two daughters and separated in July 2005.[8]
Cunningham died on August 27, 2025 at a hospital in Little Rock, Arkansas at the age of 83.[9]
References
- ↑ "Duke Cunningham". Famous Why. Retrieved Jan 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Duke Cunningham Guilty". UT San Diego. Archived from the original on October 3, 2012. Retrieved Jan 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Cunningham Moving to Arizona Prison". The Washington Post. Retrieved Jan 15, 2014.
- ↑ "Former US Rep Duke Cunningham Sprung from Lockup in a Bribery Scheme". NBC News San Diego. Retrieved Jan 15, 2014.
- ↑ Helderman, Rosalind S.; Dawsey, Josh; Reinhard, Beth (January 20, 2021). "Trump grants clemency to 143 people in late-night pardon blast". The Washington Post. Retrieved February 8, 2021.
- ↑ "Executive Grant of Clemency: Randall Harold Cunningham". US Department of Justice. Retrieved 2024-06-27.
- ↑ Dodge, Dani (February 12, 2006). "Standing in an unwelcome spotlight". The San Diego Union-Tribune. p. A-1. Archived from the original on October 6, 2014. Retrieved September 30, 2014.
- ↑ "Cunningham's Wife Says She Felt Deceived". Los Angeles Times. August 19, 2006.
- ↑ "F-4 Fighter Ace Duke Cunningham has died". AV Geekery. August 27, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
Other websites
- Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
- Voting record maintained by The Washington Post
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- The San Diego Union-Tribune's coverage of the Cunningham scandal Archived October 9, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
- Washington Post Express interview with the authors of "The Wrong Stuff" about Cunningham and Washington's culture of corruption
- PAC donors, Indiv donors, Personal Financial Disclosures, Campaign Disbursements, at PoliticalMoneyLine
- "Cunningham's commerce website, topguninc.com (deactivated June 2005)". Archived from the original on September 21, 2004. Retrieved July 9, 2005.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link) - Stern, Marcus (July 15, 2005). "Congressman's career buried by blizzard of questions on actions". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Copley News Service.
- Jantz, Barry (November 30, 2005). "Duke Cunningham: First and Last Surrender". FlashReport. Archived from the original on September 28, 2007.
- DeLay's prosecutors dig deeper into California
- Profile at SourceWatch
- "Official U.S. House website". Archived from the original on May 25, 2005. Retrieved February 21, 2015.