One of the most

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One of the most telling features of the “Duke” Cunningham scandal (CunningScam? Yachthgate?) is that with all the very damning information that has been revealed over the last ten days neither of the principals has managed to say much of anything in their defense.

To the best of my knowledge (and I’ve followed this fairly closely), MZM CEO and grand poobah Mitchell Wade has not spoken to any reporter about anything related to the story.

For the first few days, his employees put out the word that he was “traveling without access to a telephone“, which, for most businessmen today, is rather like drinking without a cup. More recently he seems simply to have gone to ground with no particular need for an any explanation.

At some later day, we may find him looking for the real killers or as the case may be, the real home buyers. But for the moment, he’s nowhere to be found. And this is a federal contractor doing business with the USG on super-serious defense and homeland security matters.

Even more telling is the tightlippedness of Cunningham himself. After the story first broke he put out word that he was assembling paperwork that would put all questions to rest. But he now seems to have gone to ground too — a sitting member of Congress no less.

Here, the North County Times (which has been giving the San Diego Union-Tribune a run for its money on this one) picks up the story. Cunningham spokesman Mark Olson says that the congressman has no timeline for when he’ll speak to reporters or come forward with his all-clarifying dossier. But even the local head of the GOP doesn’t seem happy about it. San Diego County GOP chief Ron Nehring says: “I think everyone is looking forward to the situation being clarified. There clearly is more information that needs to come out and when that happens we will get a clearer idea of what happens next.”

Says Olson: “The congressman is putting together all the relevant records and information and will disclose it at the appropriate time.”

Seems like an appropriate time.

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