The Duke-Stir May Take Some Others Down With Him

[Beetwasher]

He's cooperating w/ the US Attorney and he actually seems to be pretty repentent, and that's good. It means he's got nothing to lose and everything to gain by being fully cooperative. Bad news for the Repubs. I don't think he's taking down others because he's vindictive, I think he may actually be doing it to try to make some ammends, and that's good.

Josh Marshall has some good stuff on this here:

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com

[Wilms]

1. Those weren't crocodile tears, today.

So we'll see if he was feeling sorry for himself, or really sorry for being dishonest (to state it mildly).

[FlemingsGhost]

2. Anyone see "Midnight Run" with Bobby Deniro?

"The Duke" had some bad mafia mofos after him, trying to keep his mouth shut. "Duke" Cunningham should stay out of small planes, if he's thinking about singing.

Or maybe he'll conveniently "take his own life" with a single bullet to the back of the head.

[Beetwasher]

8. Good Point

He may be hoping the Feds can protect him at this point.

[CatWoman]

3. Hey handsome

:hi:

This is gonna be a GREAT Christmas, eh?

[Beetwasher]

6. Hi Darlin'! Christmas or Fitzmas?

:loveya:

[DURHAM D]

4. I don't think he is cooperating to make amends. I read

the plea agreement. I think he is scrambling to keep his kids and wife out of jail. His (and his wife and kids and his business) have a massive IRS problem. His boat is swamped and I think he is trying to keep everyone from drowning.

[Boomer]

5. Bit of both, maybe?

Someone like Cunningham, who has so much of his self-image invested in his reputation for courage and moral integrity, is going to be rocked by a public admission of corruption. Whatever unaknowledged greed led to this moment, I'm willing to bet that he truly is aghast at what he has become.

Which is not to say there still isn't a significant degree of self-interest in his cooperation, but the moral edge is going to push him to a level of cooperation that makes him truly dangerous to less scrupulous cohorts.

[Beetwasher]

7. Maybe

Either way, it seems he will cooperate fully so it makes no difference really. That's the important part.

[DavidDvorkin]

9. I don't care why he's cooperating

As long as he goes down and takes some of the other SOBs with him.

[benddem]

10. Has anyone check into

the freepers to see how they are spinning this? I just can't bring myself to go over there...unless someone prints a link.
Read the whole plea agreement and charges at tpm. It is much much worse than I could imagine. They were stuffing money in this guy's pockets.