POGO letter to Reps Hoekstra and Harman urging public release of an unclassified report on former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham's earmarking activities

Representative Peter Hoekstra, Chairman, HPSCI

Representative Jane Harman, Ranking Member, HPSCI

H-405 US Capitol Building

Washington , DC 20515

Dear Representatives:

The Project On Government Oversight ( POGO ) is an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in order to achieve a more accountable federal government. POGO has been made aware that there is an unreleased 20-page unclassified report documenting the findings of an independent investigation led by Michael Stern into the activities of former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. We are writing to urge you to make public this unclassified report.

There is a compelling public interest in learning how an elected representative exploited vulnerabilities in Congressional rules and procedures to corrupt the system and benefit himself and several companies through the earmarking process and other means. Releasing the unclassified version of this report will reinforce your committee's reputation for bipartisan oversight and will increase the public's confidence in their elected representatives. Your committee's efforts to prevent further instances of malfeasance would also be helped. Since the report is unclassified, there should be no significant harm in making it public. Clearly, the benefits to public disclosure outweigh the costs.

Rep. Cunningham was convicted because of activities that are illegal, and which also smeared the reputation of the House of Representatives. The Project On Government Oversight urges you to release the unclassified report and help remove the cloud caused by Rep. Cunningham's actions.

Please contact either myself or our intelligence investigator Nick Schwellenbach at (202) 347-1122 should you wish to discuss this matter.

Sincerely,

Danielle Brian

Executive Director