SAN DIEGO -- Admitting to "poor judgment," Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham says he won't seek re-election because campaigning while being investigated for his dealings with a defense contractor would take too great a toll on his family.

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Cunningham Won't Run Again

"In the last month, serious allegations have been made about my conduct in office," Cunningham said at Cal State San Marcos Thursday, when he announced he will not run for Congress next year.

"I again want to assure my constituents that I have acted honorably and in the performance of my duty in Congress. This truth will be evident in time."

Cunningham is the subject of investigations by the FBI, the U.S. Attorney's Office and a grand jury in connection with his financial dealings with Washington, D.C.-based defense contractor MZM Inc.

"I have cooperated with the government's investigation, and I am confident that I will be vindicated," he said.

"But I will not ignore the damage to my standing in this community that has followed from these false charges ... nor will I ignore the harsh toll that these allegations have had on my family."

The eight-term congressman, who sits on a defense subcommittee, said he showed "poor judgment" in the sale of his Del Mar Heights home to MZM founder Mitchell Wade, "a friend who did business with the government."

Cunningham fell under suspicion after details of the November 2003 sale came to light. Wade bought the residence for $1.67 million, then resold it eight months later at a $700,000 loss. Cunningham used the proceeds from the sale to buy a home in Rancho Santa Fe for about $2.5 million.

"I should have given more thought to how such transactions might look to those who don't know me like you do," Cunningham said Thursday. But the 63- year-old decorated Vietnam War fighter pilot, who was elected in 1990, denied doing anything illegal.

"I cannot turn back the clock, but I want each of you to know that I did not profit improperly from the sale of my home in Del Mar," he said. "I believe that the sale of the home in Del Mar was at a reasonable price, and that the proceeds from the sale are rightfully ours."

Accompanied by his wife, Nancy, Cunningham said he did not want there to be "any question in the minds of my friends and supporters about whether I improperly benefited from my work as a representative in Washington."

To that end, he said he would sell his Rancho Santa Fe home and "donate a portion of the proceeds of that sale to three or more San Diego charities" with which he and his wife have "been affiliated for years."

Cunningham said his attorneys have advised him that the government inquiry "will not conclude in just a matter of weeks, or even a few months."

"I do not believe that a political campaign in the midst of such an investigation is in the best interests of my family or my constituents," he said. "Such a campaign should be about the issues that matter to the daily lives of the people, not personal finances."

Cunningham said he could continue his work in Congress and defend himself against allegations of wrongdoing, "but I don't think I can do either of these things effectively in the midst of a political campaign."

"Quite simply, right now I may not be the strongest candidate," he said.

Besides the house sale, Cunningham has come under fire for living for more than a year on Wade's moored 42-foot cabin cruiser docked on the Potomac River -- it's called Duke-Stir -- while staying in the Beltway.

Cunningham has said he has paid $13,000 in dock fees and maintenance while living on the boat at the Capital Yacht Club.

MZM has been a major contributor to Cunningham's campaigns, donating $13,000 in the 2003-04 election cycle. Wade was a Pentagon program manager before starting MZM in 1993.

MZM announced late last month that Wade had been replaced by James C. King, a retired Army lieutenant general and intelligence expert, and that two other executives voluntarily resigned.