Its Good to Be a Congressman

[JPhillips]

To sum up the article, a congressman on the defense appropriations committee sells his house for almost three-quarter of a million more than it fetches a few months later to a contractor that just happens to get a lot of new defense business.

I do give the guy credit for oming up with a very well hidden plan to pocket that money. Even now that its exposed he might get away with it.


Lawmaker's home sale questioned





Cunningham defends deal with defense firm's owner
By Marcus Stern
COPLEY NEWS SERVICE
June 12, 2005



Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido
WASHINGTON – A defense contractor with ties to Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham took a $700,000 loss on the purchase of the congressman's Del Mar house while the congressman, a member of the influential defense appropriations subcommittee, was supporting the contractor's efforts to get tens of millions of dollars in contracts from the Pentagon.

Mitchell Wade bought the San Diego Republican's house for $1,675,000 in November 2003 and put it back on the market almost immediately for roughly the same price. But the Del Mar house languished unsold and vacant for 261 days before selling for $975,000.

Meanwhile, Cunningham used the proceeds of the $1,675,000 sale to buy a $2.55 million house in Rancho Santa Fe. And Wade, who had been suffering through a flat period in winning Pentagon contracts, was on a tear – reeling in tens of millions of dollars in defense and intelligence-related contracts.

In an interview Wednesday, Cunningham conceded that the circumstances surrounding the transaction could raise "fair" questions, but he insisted that the real estate deal was legitimate and independent of his efforts to help Wade win contracts.

"My whole life I've lived aboveboard," Cunningham said. "I've never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. I don't cheat. If a contractor buys me lunch and we meet a second time, I buy the lunch. My whole life has been aboveboard and so this doesn't worry me."

Later, he added, "The last thing I would do is get involved in something that, you know, is wrong. And I feel very confident that I haven't done anything wrong."

Congressional and political watchdog organizations expressed concerns, saying the circumstances raise questions about whether the transaction might constitute an illegal campaign contribution or even an official bribe.

"This doesn't look good at all," said Larry Noble, director of the Center for Responsive Politics. "It doesn't look like something that was on the up and up."

"The potential conflicts here are enormous," added Brad White, director of investigations for Public Citizen's Congress Watch.

Wade was traveling without access to a telephone last week, according to Scotty Brumett, an official of Wade's company, MZM Inc. Brumett said Wade purchased the two-story, four-bedroom, three-and-a-half-bath residence to raise MZM's corporate profile in San Diego.

"We were looking at expanding our company presence in San Diego," Brumett said. "We looked at the property and thought it would work for us. But after we bought it, we realized that it did not meet our security or our corporate needs."

So the company placed it back on the market within one month of purchasing it, where it stayed for more than eight months, selling eventually for $700,000 less than the price Wade gave Cunningham.

"I don't know why it didn't sell," said listing agent Elizabeth Todd, a Realtor with the Willis Allen Co. in Del Mar. "I honestly don't. I mean, it's a house in Del Mar west of I-5 and it's a good-sized house. I honestly don't know why."

No Realtor was formally involved when Cunningham sold the house to Wade. But Todd had set the asking price for Cunningham at $1,675,000 and sent a table of comparable house sales to Wade justifying the price, she and Cunningham said. He didn't hire Todd as the listing agent and never paid her a fee, she added. Nor was the house ever posted in the Realtors' multiple listing service, she added.

Property records don't list Wade or MZM as the buyer of Cunningham's house. Instead, the records state that Cunningham sold the house to 1523 New Hampshire Avenue LLC. Nevada state business records show that Wade owns that company, too. It is the address of his Washington, D.C., office.

"I tried to sell my house," Cunningham explained. "And I told a bunch of other people I wanted to sell it when Mr. Wade said, 'Hey, I'll buy it.' I went through Willis and Allen. They sent him comps. And he said that's a fair price and I'll buy it. Now other than that, I don't know anything about it."

Noble and White portrayed the transaction as suspicious.

"It's not even like he sold the house to a friend who moved in," said Noble. "And MZM wasn't buying an office in San Diego. I don't know a lot of companies that increase their presence by buying a home that they don't live in.

"I mean this whole thing, frankly, raises a lot of serious questions. At the worst end of the scenarios are illegal gifts or, if this transaction was in essence a payment to Cunningham for his help in getting contracts, then you'd be talking about official bribery."

Said White: "Just the circumstances surrounding this deal raise concerns about whether it was legitimate. And it's an important question, because if it wasn't, then this transaction would be a questionable $700,000 gift from an ambitious defense contractor to a sitting member of the House defense appropriations subcommittee."

No mention of Cunningham's real estate transaction with Wade or the lawmaker's subsequent purchase of the $2.55 million house in Rancho Santa Fe appears on the annual financial disclosure form he is required to fill out each year as a member of Congress because personal residences are exempt from the forms.

Cunningham, who also sits on the House Intelligence Committee, has represented the 50th Congressional District since 1990. The district includes several north county communities, such as Carlsbad, Encinitas, San Marcos, Del Mar and Escondido.

Cunningham said his home sale to Wade was totally independent of any assistance he might have given MZM in its efforts to win defense and intelligence contracts.

"I don't have anything to do with contracts," Cunningham said. "The way it works here, I support a lot of credible defense programs for either the Air Force, Navy, shipbuilding, ship repair, intel. And they say, you know, 'Duke, these are good programs. This is what we want to do.' I support those programs like I have literally thousands in San Diego."

The defense appropriations subcommittee drafts the bill that sets specific funding levels for defense programs each year. Committee staff members, acting under the supervision of the chairman and with input from members of the committee, create the initial draft of the spending bill.

With the chairman's approval, subcommittee members are able to insert targeted provisions, frequently benefiting companies, schools or other projects in their congressional districts. This process goes on largely behind closed doors, and the language of the bill rarely identifies the intended beneficiary or the subcommittee member responsible for the provision. Subcommittee members frequently win support for their pet provisions by supporting the provisions of other members.

"It's almost like a swap meet sometimes," said Eric Miller, senior defense investigator for the Project On Government Oversight.

After the draft is completed, the subcommittee, full committee and House must approve the legislation.

Asked if he had supported funding requests benefiting MZM, Cunningham said, "Oh, sure. Just like I have supported Qualcomm and everything else. Titan. SAIC. TRW."

MZM has also been a major contributor to Cunningham's political campaigns, having donated $13,000 in the 2003-04 election cycle.

Asked if he and Wade were friends, Cunningham answered, "No more than I am with (Qualcomm founder) Irwin Jacobs or (Titan Corp. founder) Gene Ray or any of the other CEOs."

Nobody would equate MZM, which is headquartered in the trendy Dupont Circle area in Washington, with San Diego-based giants Qualcomm and Titan. Nor would anyone equate Wade with Jacobs or Ray. Wade was a Pentagon program manager before launching MZM in 1993, and he struggled to get contracts as recently as three years ago.

But in 2003 and 2004, roughly around the time of the house transaction, MZM's fortunes began to soar. In fiscal year 2003, it received $41 million in defense contracts. Since then, MZM has added tens of millions of dollars in additional contracts, including a $5 million sole source contract to provide interpreters in Iraq.

In 2004, MZM had $66 million in revenues, according to Washington Technology magazine, which put the relative corporate newcomer on its 2005 list of "Top 100 Federal Prime Contractors."

MZM offers a broad range of consulting services for national security, intelligence, law enforcement and defense agencies.

Cunningham said he couldn't discuss the MZM programs he's helped advance because they are "very, very classified."

Brumett, the MZM official, refused to discuss any of MZM's contracting activities, saying, "It's government proprietary information and it's also classified."

But MZM's corporate Web site boasts that during 2004, "MZM Inc. experienced significant growth, tripling revenues since the beginning of the year and increasing staff by 285 percent. We look forward to continued growth in 2005."

[Samdari]

I love it - "I've never even smoked marajuana"

Its better than the Chewbacca defense.

[QuikSand]

This guy had beter be careful - he could give politicans a bad name.

[Farrah Whitworth-Rahn]

That doesn't pass the smell test even without the superhuman pregnancy senses.

[albionmoonlight]

Once you make the decision to bribe a Congressman, and once he makes the decision to accept it, doesn't a briefcase full of money changing hands in a dark parking garage make more sense than a shady real estate deal?

How could they think that a $700,000 real estate transaction, which by its nature leaves a paper trail, would go unnoticed? Sure he does not have to report this on his ethics form, but I would also argue that he would not have to report the briefcase full of money, either. (Again, assuming that the relevant parties had come to terms with bribery being OK).

[Blackadar]

This stinks.

They left out one piece of vital information in the article - what the value of the house was when it was appraised the 2nd time or what the tax value of the house was.

[MalcPow]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

This stinks.

They left out one piece of vital information in the article - what the value of the house was when it was appraised the 2nd time or what the tax value of the house was.

Bottom line, I think there's impropriety and conflict of interest involved soley in the fact that as an elected representative he's involved in business transactions with someone whom he is involved with granting government contracts. Whether the place was appraised at $2, $5 or $10 million makes no difference. But I agree it's unsettling that the writer chose to massage this story to the point of not including those facts.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by albionmoonlight

Once you make the decision to bribe a Congressman, and once he makes the decision to accept it, doesn't a briefcase full of money changing hands in a dark parking garage make more sense than a shady real estate deal?

How could they think that a $700,000 real estate transaction, which by its nature leaves a paper trail, would go unnoticed? Sure he does not have to report this on his ethics form, but I would also argue that he would not have to report the briefcase full of money, either. (Again, assuming that the relevant parties had come to terms with bribery being OK).

I guess not every shady congressman has an account in the Caymans or something. *shrug*

SI

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by MalcPow

Bottom line, I think there's impropriety and conflict of interest involved soley in the fact that as an elected representative he's involved in business transactions with someone whom he is involved with granting government contracts. Whether the place was appraised at $2, $5 or $10 million makes no difference. But I agree it's unsettling that the writer chose to massage this story to the point of not including those facts.

I'd like to see if this is simply a conflict-of-interest...or an outright bribe. A true valuation on this house will help make that determination.

[MrBigglesworth]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I'd like to see if this is simply a conflict-of-interest...or an outright bribe. A true valuation on this house will help make that determination.

In real estate, a house is worth what you can sell it for. He obviously couldn't sell it for the $1.6 million. But even if it is worth $1.6 million, as an investor you do not buy a house and put it on the market for the same price the next day. There are all kinds of transaction fees that would equal a net loss for you. This deal, as described, is completely bogus.

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I'd like to see if this is simply a conflict-of-interest...or an outright bribe. A true valuation on this house will help make that determination.

MrBigglesworth already basically said it, but especially at the high end market, appraisers are pretty much useless. They tend to say the house is worth exactly what was paid for it because there are never really any comparables (unless this house was part of a super-ultra rich development, but that seems unlikely).

[Raiders Army]

"My whole life I've lived aboveboard," Cunningham said. "I've never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. I don't cheat. If a contractor buys me lunch and we meet a second time, I buy the lunch. My whole life has been aboveboard and so this doesn't worry me."

That's a good one. If you're aboveboard, why would a contractor buy you lunch? Just pay for your lunch both times and he pays for his.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

I'd like to see if this is simply a conflict-of-interest...or an outright bribe. A true valuation on this house will help make that determination.

I think the second sale pretty well serves as a "true valuation," better than bringing some hack to try to guess what it's worth. The house sat on the market for months, and sold for $975K. To me, that's a pretty good figure.

To echo the other real estate thread, what we had in the first sale was a "motivated buyer."

But to be fair, he was buying a package deal... buy the house, and now you own the Congressman too!

[JPhillips]

When you look at it that way the sale price was a bargain!

[Flasch186]

looking at this map...it is DEFINITELY crap----the homes here have NOT dropped in value at ALL!! this is certainly a bribe:

here's the map of the locale:




and here's a listing of homes in Del Mar:

http://mlswizard.istrategy.com/mls.listing.asp?sessionGUID={C991A23F-8B0D-4714-92D2-8ED6703C0F9A}&p=1



It's a bribe and the guy should be run out of town.

This house is listed for 1.5

[JPhillips]

According to Roll Call the transaction was non-listed and the realtor who arranged the deal was a contributor to Cunningham.

How common are non-listed home sales?

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

According to Roll Call the transaction was non-listed and the realtor who arranged the deal was a contributor to Cunningham.

How common are non-listed home sales?

depends how hot the market is really. in that one I could see it being not listed BUT as the number of nonlisted sales go so go the prices.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

"My whole life I've lived aboveboard," Cunningham said. "I've never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. I don't cheat. If a contractor buys me lunch and we meet a second time, I buy the lunch. My whole life has been aboveboard and so this doesn't worry me."

Whatever. I don't believe these either. Cause he would have seen how obviously ridiculous this was. Gimme a fu*$kin break. And entering into any transaction whatsoever with a potential government contractor is enough to have you at least run out of Congress.

But seeing how Delay is still there, my guess is nothing will happen.

[albionmoonlight]

Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez

my guess is nothing will happen.

I don't know what will or won't happen to the Congressman. But if I were a rank and file employee of MZM Consulting, I would be getting my resume in order.

[st.cronin]

It's hard to believe nobody told either one of these guys what a dumb idea this was.

[JPhillips]

It just keeps getting better. To sum up this article, the comps for the house, based on "vastly different sizes and views" were between 700,000 and 1.7 million. So the contractor paid just 25,000 less than the highest priced house in the neighborhood. The agent, who's family has given more than 10k to Cunningham, arranged the deal but didn't get a commission. However, she was also the agent for Cunningham's new 2mil+ house and the resale of the old house and made commissions on both.

Another thing to keep in mind, San Diego realestate prices were growing at an almost 20% clip during the time this house supposedly devalued by nearly 50%


WASHINGTON – A Realtor who Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham said had set a fair and independent price for the controversial November 2003 sale of his Del Mar home to a defense contractor was a longtime contributor to the Rancho Santa Fe Republican.



U.S. Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham purchased a $2.55 million house in Rancho Santa Fe.
Realtor Elizabeth Todd and two family members have made 18 separate contributions totaling $11,500 to Cunningham's congressional campaign committee since 1997, according to records at the Federal Election Commission.

The lawmaker also hired her and paid her a commission for the $2.55 million Rancho Santa Fe house that he acquired immediately after selling the Del Mar house. And the defense contractor hired her to sell the Del Mar house after he purchased it from Cunningham.

Cunningham has elicited sharp public criticism since Copley News Service, in an article published Sunday in The San Diego Union-Tribune, disclosed that he sold his Del Mar house in November 2003 to Mitchell Wade, a defense contractor. Wade put the Del Mar house back on the market shortly after buying it, where it remained unsold and vacant for more than eight months. It eventually sold for $700,000 less than what Wade had paid Cunningham.

Property records don't list Wade or his company MZM Inc. as the buyer of Cunningham's house. Instead, the records state that Cunningham sold the house to 1523 New Hampshire Avenue LLC. Nevada state business records show that Wade owns that company, too. It is the address of his Washington, D.C., office.

The congressman, a member of the influential House defense appropriations subcommittee, said in an interview last week that he has supported Wade's efforts to win tens of millions of dollars in defense contracts.


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Monday, Cunningham's congressional office released a two-paragraph statement that is his only known public comment on the transaction since its disclosure. He defended it, saying Wade had "received comparables from an independent source establishing the value of the home."

Cunningham last week identified the person who set the price as Todd. In a separate interview last week, Todd, of the Willis Allen Co. in Del Mar, confirmed that she sent Wade the "comps" and set the asking price for Cunningham.

Based solely on those comps, Wade accepted the asking price, according to Cunningham and Todd. Neither Cunningham nor Todd has responded to telephone calls since the story was published.

Cunningham came under partisan attack yesterday, with an aide to House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, saying that Cunningham's house transaction "is precisely the sort of allegation that a nonpartisan, functioning (House) ethics committee would consider. Did Mr. Cunningham receive an illegal gift . . . or violate provisions of the criminal code that prohibit the receipt of something of value in return for official action? Or was this a fair market home sale?"

Revelations of the deal have sparked outrage in Cunningham's district, which includes several North County communities, such as Del Mar, Carlsbad, Encinitas, San Marcos and Escondido. Much of the anger has focused on the question of how a house could sit on the market for eight months and sell at a loss of $700,000 when prices were sharply rising and many houses were receiving multiple offers above the asking price almost immediately upon being listed.

Said San Diego Realtor Christian Peter: "In November 2003, property values increased approximately 20 percent on a year-to-year basis in San Diego County. A $700,000 loss would be unheard of, and anyone who bought property in 2003 and held onto it for any period of time should have made a significant amount of profit."

A Copley News Service review of the comps for Cunningham's neighborhood during the approximate time of the sale show an array of houses of vastly different sizes and views selling for $700,000 to $1.7 million.

This indicates that Todd might have set the price at the high end of the range when she set it at $1,675,000. However, the eight months it languished on the market and its subsequent sale for $975,000 during a seller's market suggest a value closer to the low end, according to real estate professionals interviewed for this article.

Another aspect of the transaction that perplexed experts who were interviewed yesterday is why Wade, who lives in Washington, D.C., would accept the asking price set by Todd after only looking at a list of comparable house sales.

The next step in a normal arms-length transaction would have been to have a Realtor or appraiser drive by the houses to see if the house being purchased was more like houses at the upper end of the range or more like houses at the lower end of the range, according to several experts.

Ordinarily, an appraisal would be required if a house were being financed. But there is no record of a deed of trust being taken out by Wade on the purchase of the house, indicating that he paid in cash.

Wade has remained unavailable for comment about the transaction.

Last week, in his interview with Copley News Service, Cunningham said Wade had requested comps from the lawmaker when he heard he wanted to sell his house.

"So they sent Mr. Wade some comps. And (Todd) actually set the price. Said, 'I can get this for it.' And Mr. Wade agreed, accepted. And we sold the house."

While Todd provided the comps and set the asking price, neither she nor anyone at Willis Allen was a party to the eventual sale, a private transaction between Cunningham and Wade that did not involve any real estate agents.

Despite Wade's substantial loss on the house, Cunningham said the two never really discussed the sale after it took place.

"No. I mean it was none of my business," Cunningham said last week. "I had a market price from Willis Allen . . . And they said this is what the house will sell for. And I don't know about you but, when I had a house in Clairemont, when I had one in Mira Mesa, I just tried to get the most out of the house that I possibly could, and I bet you would, too. "

[Blackadar]

The more that comes out, the more this deal stinks.

[Flasch186]

do they need 66% or 50% for the ethics committee to investigate LOL. Seriously thats the sort of thing that should be immediate but in these polarized times these are the things that some, on both sides, can try to get away with. Its a travashamockery!!

[JPhillips]

A couple things that I still have questions about.

What was the price per square foot? This isn't an exact measure, but I wonder how outrageous it was.

What were the comps for the house he bought? I wonder if he got a sweetheart deal on that end as well.


Originally I thought the agent not taking a commission wasn't a big deal, but I'm pretty sure now that that was a part of the deal. From what I know the seller pays the commission most of the time, so if she didn't take a commission that left more money for the congressman to spend on a house where the other party would pay the commission.

BTW- Cunningham got the vote of confidence from Delay. That should help!

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

A couple things that I still have questions about.

What was the price per square foot? This isn't an exact measure, but I wonder how outrageous it was.

What were the comps for the house he bought? I wonder if he got a sweetheart deal on that end as well.

Here's what you need to know:

The contractor bought it directly for $900,000 more than he could get on the open market after he put it up for sale immediately after buying it.

No need to get cute with complex tools and comparisons and square footage. This is good old fashioned graft, with only a very thin veneer of respectability. Don't give it more credence than it deserves by taking this "market sale" concept seriously.

[Arles]

Come on people, this is the new "high margin Senate housing" program slipped into the 05 budget. In this new government assistance program, senators are randomly paired with government contractors in sort of a "big brother" program for real estate. There was a great debate on this issue on how the life of a senator was getting too difficult - what with the no taxes, free lunches and recess time off. Congress felt it needed another manner with which to make the occupation of US senator a little more appealing for the "common folk".

[JPhillips]

Quiksand; Oh I have no doubt this is graft, although since he doesn't smoke weed...

I really only want to know price per square foot as another measure of the size of the graft and the second house could be a whole separate instance of graft.

In case I haven't used it enough, graft graft grafty graft graft

[Fonzie]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

In case I haven't used it enough, graft graft grafty graft graft

Whoa there...what are you trying to say?

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by Samdari

I love it - "I've never even smoked marajuana"

Actually, all he said was that he never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. Didn't say anything about a bong...

[CHEMICAL SOLDIER]

The warning really puts things in perspective.

[-Mojo Jojo-]

How about this recent story:

Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens (already infamous for pork-barrel politics) makes $822k on an 8-year $50k investment when the company he invested in lands a $450m Air Force contract.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/cgi-b...237666836&fa=1

[digamma]

Originally Posted by -Mojo Jojo-

How about this recent story:

Alaskan Senator Ted Stevens (already infamous for pork-barrel politics) makes $822k on an 8-year $50k investment when the company he invested in lands a $450m Air Force contract.

http://www.allheadlinenews.com/cgi-b...237666836&fa=1

So, it looks like we can clearly establish $700,000 or so as the going rate for buying a Congressman/Senator.

[sterlingice]

Damn. Time to start saving my pennies.

SI

[ice4277]

So, do we want to buy the aircraft carrier or a senator?

[sterlingice]

If we buy a senator, can't we get him to commission us an aircraft carrier (thus negating the need to buy it on ebay)?

SI

[John Galt]

Originally Posted by sterlingice

If we buy a senator, can't we get him to commission us an aircraft carrier (thus negating the need to buy it on ebay)?

SI

I'm eagerly awaiting the USS Sterlingice.

[sterlingice]

Originally Posted by John Galt

I'm eagerly awaiting the USS Sterlingice.

It'll be one hell of a laundry ship!

SI

[st.cronin]

All this is more evidence that Plato was right.

[SFL Cat]

On the surface, it certainly looks dirty to me. But then, so did Hillary Clinton's $1,000 futures investment that netted her $100,000. In both cases, one could argue that no rules or laws were violated, but....

[Flasch186]

...or the Bin Laden's investing in Bush's Oil venture in Texas, Over and Over and Over while the company hemhoragged money.....next

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by SFL Cat

On the surface, it certainly looks dirty to me. But then, so did Hillary Clinton's $1,000 futures investment that netted her $100,000. In both cases, one could argue that no rules or laws were violated, but....

Well the house deal is certainly more Shady than Ted Stevens deal, and Stevens deal is not near as damning. In the 90s(I didn't read the specifics but the time frame seems reasonable), lots of people made lots of money on investments. I'm not sure Hillary's comes close to either instance, but is definately more in the ballpark with Stevens'.

The real sad thing, is that this is just the ONE we are hearing about. I have little doubt that this kind of thing is pervaisive in both houses of Congress. Oh and both parties as well.

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by Glengoyne

Well the house deal is certainly more Shady than Ted Stevens deal, and Stevens deal is not near as damning. In the 90s(I didn't read the specifics but the time frame seems reasonable), lots of people made lots of money on investments. I'm not sure Hillary's comes close to either instance, but is definately more in the ballpark with Stevens'.

The real sad thing, is that this is just the ONE we are hearing about. I have little doubt that this kind of thing is pervaisive in both houses of Congress. Oh and both parties as well.

probably true and sad

[Glengoyne]

I forgot to mention that I believe this will almost certainly come under investigation by the house ethics committee. Especially since they changed the "Delay" rule back.

[SFL Cat]

Originally Posted by Klinglerware

Actually, all he said was that he never even smoked a marijuana cigarette. Didn't say anything about a bong...

word-parser

[MrBigglesworth]

For anyone interested, talkingpointsmemo.com is doing a great job reporting on the issue and trying to get at more damning information.

[Flasch186]

not needed. its pretty clear what was going on here to everyone, both sides of the aisle.

[Vinatieri for Prez]

Two things. Clinton wasn't a US senator or congresswoman when her deal went down. And I am pretty sure the guy never smoked marijuana when he calls it a "marijuana cigarette." Nobody who smokes the weed calls it that.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Vinatieri for Prez

Two things. Clinton wasn't a US senator or congresswoman when her deal went down. And I am pretty sure the guy never smoked marijuana when he calls it a "marijuana cigarette." Nobody who smokes the weed calls it that.

I agree with that Cigarette comment, but I am a guy who set the bong on fire the one time he smoked pot. They just didn't invite me back, Go Figure.

On the Clinton not being a Senator at the time...I almost made that point. I mean I actually typed it. Then I realized that someone might point out that her husband was Governor at the time. I don't really know if he was Governor at the time the "deal" took place, but I wasn't motivated enough to find out.

[Klinglerware]

Originally Posted by SFL Cat

word-parser

I'm sure he didn't ex-hale...

[JPhillips]

It has come out today that Rep. Cunningham currently spends his time in DC living on a yacht owned by........ Mitchell Wade!