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Wednesday, January 31, 2007

Defense Contractor May Be Indicted In Cunningham Case

POSTED: 11:00 am PST January 31, 2007
UPDATED: 11:23 am PST January 31, 2007

SAN DIEGO -- Two federal officials said the U.S. attorney's office in San Diego is close to seeking an indictment against Poway defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who allegedly bribed Randy "Duke" Cunningham in return for millions of dollars in government contracts, it was reported Wednesday.

"I know we are so close," one of the officials told the North County Times.

The source, who has intimate knowledge of the case and spoke on condition of anonymity, said a preliminary draft indictment is under review by "many eyes on what is going to be proposed to the grand jury," the Times reported.
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Another official who is with a different agency but is also familiar with the case said an indictment is "imminent," according to the Times.

Wilkes' attorney, Mark Geragos, said he had no knowledge of any impending indictment, the Times reported.

A San Diego federal grand jury has been considering evidence against Wilkes for more than a year. Wilkes was a longtime contributor to Cunningham's congressional campaigns and founded the firm ADCS in 1998.

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Grand Jury Probes Alleged Cunningham Co-Conspirator

POSTED: 11:22 am PST January 31, 2007

WASHINGTON -- The San Diego grand jury has been considering evidence against Brent Wilkes, a defense contractor identified as one of Cunningham's coconspirators.

Three House committees have been subpoenaed in connection with the bribery case against jailed former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham. Cunningham, a San Diego-area Republican, was sentenced in March to more than eight years in prison for accepting $2.4 million in bribes in exchange for steering government business to defense contractors.

Those committees are trying to reach an agreement with federal prosecutors allowing the subpoenas to be withdrawn, the Associated Press reported Wednesday.

Wednesday was the latest deadline for the Appropriations, Armed Services and Intelligence committees to respond to document subpoenas issued by the federal grand jury in San Diego that has been considering evidence in a defense contracting investigation stemming from the Cunningham case.

However, House lawyers have asked for more time and are working to negotiate a response that satisfies prosecutors so that they will withdraw the subpoenas, a Democratic aide said Wednesday. The aide spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the negotiations.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in San Diego did not immediately return a call for comment

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