Black Contracts

In this Prospect exclusive, a reporter sheds light on the murky world of CIA contracts and the Duke Cunningham investigation.

By Laura Rozen
Web Exclusive: 12.10.05

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We know about the hundreds of millions of dollars in defense contracts that former congressman Randy “Duke” Cunningham, using his position on the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, helped steer to individuals who had given him bribes. We also have reported about allegations that he used his position on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence to help some of the same individuals who had offered him bribes to secure intelligence-community contracts. And it’s perhaps not surprising that the chair of the House Intelligence committee, Peter Hoekstra (R-MI), has said he intends to launch a full-fledged investigation into any possible corruption of the committee.

CIA contracts are not public, and there’s an added veil of secrecy and opaqueness to the “black” contracting world. Cunningham bragged about his ability to help influence the procuring of contracts from this secretive Congressional source in a letter to San Diego contractors, saying he was in a position to influence the awarding of “black” contracts after he was assigned to the House Intelligence committee in 2001. An individual who has been identified in press reports as Co-conspirator One in the Cunningham indictment, San Diego-based defense contractor Brent Wilkes, who has not yet been charged, has more than a dozen companies in his corporate empire. Efforts by journalists to sort out which companies might have received CIA contracts have gotten nowhere -- until now.