Duncan Hunter (R-CA) and Wife Indicted

By Jeralyn, Section Corruption Cases
Posted on Wed Aug 22, 2018 at 12:41:25 PM EST
Tags: Duncan Hunter (all tags)

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CBS News reports:

Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were indicted [Tuesday] by a federal grand jury Tuesday on charges of using $250,000 worth of campaign funds for personal use, as well as filing false reports to the Federal Election Commission.

Hunter, a Republican from California, is accused of using campaign finances inappropriately several times between 2009 and 2016. The funds were allegedly used for family vacations to locations such as Hawaii and Italy, as well as more mundane expenses such as dental work and school tuition. The Justice Department also alleges that the Hunters used tens of thousands of dollars for smaller expenses such as fast food and video games.

The 47 page Indictment is here. The investigation began into the Duncans began in 2016. It's the cover-up that got them: [More...]

Hunter obscured the real usage of the campaign expenses with false filings to the Federal Election Commission, according to the Justice Department.

Both Rep. and Mrs. Hunter are charged with conspiracy, wire fraud, falsification of records, prohibited use of campaign funds, and aiding and abetting.

Margaret Hunter claimed certain expenses were for "wounded warriors. This will not sit well with the public. The Indictment charges:

Hunter’s wife also concealed a number of improper campaign expenditures by saying they were for wounded veterans. In March 2015, Hunter spent campaign funds buying shorts for himself. According to the indictment, Margaret counseled him to buy the shorts at a golf pro shop so that they could falsely describe the purchase later as “some [golf] balls for the wounded warriors.”

In August of that same year, Margaret spent $216.50 of campaign funds on running shoes and other items at Dick’s Sporting Goods. To conceal the personal expenditure, she told the campaign treasurer that the purchase was for an annual dove hunting event involving wounded warriors.

Last month, Rep. Collins was indicted on insider trading. Both Hunter and Collins were early Trump supporters.

Paul Ryan said that Hunter has been removed from his committee assignments while the case is pending.