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The U.S. Army Reserve is investigating Democratic North Carolina U.S. Senate candidate Cal Cunningham, who is a Reserve officer, a spokesman said Oct. 7.
The statement follows news reports that Cunningham, who is married and has children, had an affair this year with a married woman whose husband has served in the Army.
“The Army Reserve is investigating the matters involving Lt. Col. James Cunningham. As such, we are unable to provide further details at this time,” Army Reserve Lt. Col. Simon Flake said in the statement.
An Army document says Cunningham is assigned to the 134th Legal Operations Detachment with the Army Reserve Legal Command and that he had deployments to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. On his campaign website, Cunningham touts that he has served as a military prosecutor.
The military prohibits adultery and other activities that it says are detrimental to the “good order and discipline in the armed forces” or bring discredit to the armed forces. Soldiers can be prosecuted for it.
Cunningham is attempting to unseat Republican incumbent U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, and the Tillis seat is one that the Democrats have fought hard to pick up in a bid to take majority control of the Senate.
In a statement Oct. 7 to the USA Today Network, Cunningham communications director Rachel Petri said Cunningham would cooperate with the investigation.
“Cal will participate in this process, but it does not change the stakes of this election or the need for new leaders who will fight for the issues North Carolinians care about instead of caving to the corporate special interests – which is exactly what Senator Tillis has done in his years in Washington,” she said.
After news of this affair and a possible second affair were made public late last week and on Monday, the campaign said this is a personal matter and Cunningham will not drop out of the race.
Cunningham had previously issued an apology for his actions.
Tillis, who is recovering from testing positive for COVID-19, on Wednesday commented on Twitter about the matter.
“Cal Cunningham is now under investigation by the U.S. Army Reserve. He owes North Carolinians a full explanation,” Tillis said. “The truth still matters in North Carolina, Cal.”
‘He should know military law’
The military doesn’t shy from enforcing its policy against extramarital affairs, said Tod Leaven, an Army veteran and lawyer in Asheville.
“For officers, having an affair is an absolute career killer,” Leaven said. “They totally enforce it, and everyone knows it.”
While court-martials for adultery aren’t common, Leaven said personnel who break the military’s prohibition on “Extramarital Sexual Conduct” can face less-than-honorable discharges, known informally as “bad paper.”
Leaven said the ban, spelled out in Article 134 of the Universal Code of Military Justice, guards against servicemembers being compromised by the raw emotions and potential blackmail of extramarital affairs.
“Affairs are so sensitive, and people do really, really stupid stuff to try to hide an affair and that could just jeopardize a unit,” he said.
Leaven, who knows Cunningham and still supports him in the Senate race, said he was dismayed by the Democratic candidate’s actions, especially given the fact that Cunningham was a military prosecutor.
“He should know military law better than anyone else,” he said. “If there’s an expert on the Universal Code of Military Justice, it should be Cal. And knowing it, he still decided to take the risk, and that’s on him.”
While Leaven said the Army Reserve can’t create a double standard by approach the Cunningham situation differently, he does feel the policy against extramarital sexual conduct can be antiquated at times, especially for members of the Army Reserve who spend most of their time off duty.
Some veterans question how much private shortcomings impact their military performance.
“I would say it’s a private thing,” said Foryst Blackburn, a Vietnam War veteran in Wilkes County. “I don’t think a man’s personal life affects his ability to serve his country, but it’s sort of a black mark if they’re running for an office of some kind.”