Cunningham Fined for Late Report of Campaign Gifts

Federal election officials fined U.S. Rep. Randy (Duke) Cunningham $1,900 Tuesday for late reporting of $20,250 in contributions to his 1990 primary campaign, an error Cunningham aides called a minor bookkeeping lapse.

Cunningham (R-San Diego) missed a deadline in reporting the donations, some of which were loans to his campaign, aide Frank Collins said. Under federal law, candidates in the final days of a campaign have 48 hours to report every campaign donation of more than $1,000 to the Federal Election Commission.

“This was a matter of not fully complying with the 48-hour notification,” Collins said. “This was a matter of, if anything, poor bookkeeping.” Since then, Collins said, Cunningham has installed a computerized records system.

Cunningham, one of the most decorated Navy fliers in the Vietnam War, won a five-candidate GOP primary scramble in June, 1990. Last November, he unseated Democrat Jim Bates, who had held the 44th District seat since 1982, by a 46%-45% margin.

In the 1990 primary, Cunningham failed to report seven of 25 contributions within the 48-hour deadline, Collins said. Three of those seven were loans Cunningham made to the campaign, Collins said.

Of the $20,250 that was not reported on time, $16,250 was in loans from Cunningham to the campaign, Collins said. The donations, all within legal limits, were reported in a report filed in July, about a month after the primary, he said.

The FEC notified Cunningham about six months ago of the violation, initially seeking a fine of $2,550, Collins said. Cunningham made a counter proposal of $1,900, saying the new computer system and staff training had fixed the problem, and the commission accepted, Collins said.

Cunningham paid the fine Tuesday, Collins said.