Since 2000, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., has been given $4,000 in contributions tied to Randy "Duke" Cunningham, a legislator from California who was charged with accepting political bribes.

According to the Federal Election Commission's records, the Friends of Duke Cunningham gave Rogers $3,000 and the American Prosperity Political Action Committee gave him $1,000.

Cunningham pleaded guilty to accepting nearly $2.4 million in bribes on Monday. In exchange for the money, he helped direct government work to defense contractors. He gave some of his colleagues funds from his campaign contributions and political action committee.

Giving money to other members of a political party isn't an unusual practice, said William Jacoby, a professor in MSU's Department of Political Science.

"It's fairly normal when members of Congress have excess funds and they pass them along to other people," he said. "I would question where the funds came from."

The money collected from Cunningham would have been used for campaign purposes, said Sylvia Warner, press secretary for Rogers.

"It goes way back," she said.

She did not know if Rogers would return the money.

Bill Ballenger, editor and publisher of Inside Michigan Politics, a Lansing-based political newsletter, said he doesn't know what Rogers should do with the money, but he could return it.

Some members of Congress are donating the money they received from Cunningham to charity.

"Even if he has spent it he can turn around and issue a check back to somebody," Ballenger said. "I don't really know what the pattern of conduct is. There are probably 230 other representatives in the House who got contributions from Duke Cunningham."

Accepting money tied to Cunningham could potentially harm Rogers' reputation, Jacoby said.

"I think if he's concerned about his reputation, he might want to think about returning it," he said. "He probably used it as part of his war chest and campaign funds."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.