[Julie Steiner]

My amoral former Congressmember is exactly the kind of person whom Trump would (and did) pardon. Whistleblowers like Snowden, not so much.

Trump’s 11th hour pardon of Duke Cunningham called ‘total disgrace’

Ron Nehring, who was the chairman of the county Republican Party when Cunningham was prosecuted in 2005, blasted the move on Twitter.

“Providing a pardon to former Congressman Duke Cunningham is a total disgrace,” Nehring wrote. “I was San Diego GOP Chairman at the time. Cunningham sold his office in the sleaziest of ways, and lied about it to everyone. ‘Drain the Swamp.’ Yeah, right.”

Jon Fleischman, the former executive director of the California Republican Party and now the publisher of the website FlashReport, was also critical of the Cunningham pardon. “This SOB literally sold out America for cash, betraying his oath and our country,” he wrote on Twitter. “He didn’t deserve a pardon. He deserved to live in shame until the end of his days. Makes me sick to my stomach.”

Cunningham is now retired and living in Arkansas, where he moved after being released from prison in 2013 after serving an eight-year prison sentence for accepting bribes. He did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.

He pleaded guilty in 2005 to conspiracy and tax evasion. Cunningham admitted receiving $2 million in bribes that included lavish meals, fancy trips and other gifts as well as cash from defense contractors. In return he used his position in Congress to steer government contracts their way.