Another.. Another GOP Corrupt Rep. indicted..

GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter and wife indicted on charges of misusing campaign funds

The couple is accused of misusing campaign funds for vacations, dentistry and other personal expenses.

By JOHN BRESNAHAN and RACHAEL BADE

A federal grand jury on Tuesday indicted California GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife on charges of improperly using hundreds of thousands of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses, including family vacations and dental work.

Hunter is also accused of filing false campaign reports and wire fraud.

The late-August indictment is a huge problem for California Republicans. Unless Hunter were to pass away in the next 10 days - Aug. 31 - there is no way to replace him on the ballot this November, according to the California Secretary of State's office. There is also no write-in option under state law.

While the San Diego-based district is solidly Republican and Hunter was moving toward reelection despite his legal problems, Tuesday's indictment may cost the GOP a badly needed House seat in a potential wave-election year favoring Democrats.

The grand jury indictment paints a picture of the Hunters as a couple with serious financial problems who began dipping into about $250,000 worth of campaign funds to pay their expenses. The Hunters allegedly overdrew their joint checking account more than 1,100 times during a seven-year period, leading to more than $37,000 in overdraft charges, according to the indictment. Their credit cards were also maxed out, leading to more than $24,000 in additional charges.

"By virtue of these delinquencies - as well as notifications of outstanding debts and overdue payments from their children's school, their family dentist, and other creditors - the HUNTERS knew that many of their desired purchases could only be made by using Campaign funds," the indictment alleges. "The goal of the conspiracy was for DUNCAN HUNTER and MARGARET HUNTER to enrich themselves, and others at their direction, by converting Campaign funds for their own personal benefit and enjoyment, and for the personal benefit of others with whom the HUNTERS had personal relationships."

Hunter's attorney, Gregory Vega, claims the prosecution of his client is politically motivated. Vega has sent letters to the Justice Department complaining that two of the federal prosecutors involved in the Hunter case attended a fundraiser for Hillary Clinton in Aug. 2015. Hunter, one of the first lawmakers on Capitol Hill who endorsed his candidacy, was a vocal supporter of President Donald Trump's campaign.

Vega wanted the case handled by another federal prosecutor, or the criminal investigation brought to an end without an indictment. The DOJ declined those requests. Vega also wrote to Rod Rosenstein, the deputy attorney general, on Aug. 6 complaining that the "overt political leanings of two individuals intimately involved in the investigation, combined with, among other things, the Southern District’s sudden, inexplicable rush to indict my client before the general election without affording him sufficient due process, create an actual and/or apparent conflict that cannot be ignored."

Speaker Paul Ryan said in a statement Tuesday that Hunter will be removed from his committee assignments pending a resolution to the criminal case.

According to a statement from the Justice Department, during the period from 2009 to 2016, the "Hunters illegally used campaign money to pay for personal expenses that they could not otherwise afford. The purchases included family vacations to Italy, Hawaii, Phoenix, Arizona, and Boise, Idaho; school tuition; dental work; theater tickets; and domestic and international travel for almost a dozen relatives."

Prosecutors allege that the Hunters falsely mislabeled their personal expenses “campaign travel,” “dinner with volunteers/contributors,” “toy drives,” “teacher/parent and supporter events,” “gift cards” for charitable donations, and “gift basket items.” At one point they purchased “personal clothing items at a golf course so that the purchase could be falsely reported to the Treasurer as ‘balls for the wounded warriors,’” the indictment reads. They would also allegedly book vacations using Expedia.com so the campaign records would not disclose locations of destinations.

According to the indictment, Hunter gave his wife, Margaret, a campaign credit card knowing full well she would use it on personal items they could not otherwise afford. Margaret hid some of her expenses by refusing to turn over credit card statements and receipts to the campaign treasurer, prosecutors alleged.

When pressed by campaign staff about improper spending they discovered, prosecutors allege Duncan Hunter “accused [them] of disloyalty” — though he did end up paying his campaign back tens of thousands of dollars.

In the indictment, prosecutors detail how the Hunters lavished their friends and family with gifts and fancy nights out on the town, and how Hunter doted on several unnamed “individuals” in Washington. He spent more than $160, for example, for a one-night stay at the Liaison Capitol Hill hotel with one such individual. He took another on a ski trip in early 2010, and later to Virginia Beach on vacation.

Those charges were made while Hunter’s family account suffered, prosecutors wrote: “On this day [of the ski trip charge], the HUNTER family bank account had a negative balance and incurred six separate insufficient funds fees (totaling $198). Also on this same day, DUNCAN HUNTER withdrew $20 from his personal bank account, leaving a balance of $15.02.”

Meanwhile, Margaret used the credit card to make routine house-hold purchases back in California, where she lived with their children while he was in Washington. Prosecutor alleged the Hunters spent more than $11,000 on Costco, $5,700 on Walmart as well as thousands more at Target and other stores and fast-food restaurants.

Hunter would use his campaign card to treat friends to nice dinners in Washington, prosecutor say, while Margaret used her campaign card to buy airplane tickets for her family members regularly. Once she labelled those tickets as a campaign “flight to Baltimore for [National Republican Congressional Committee] winter meeting." Duncan Hunter would confirm to the treasurer that many of the expenses were “campaign related.”

At one point, Margaret doled out $700 in campaign funds for tickets to see “How the Grinch Stole Christmas” — a charge she called “holiday gift certificates” for the campaign. A few years later she’d spent more than $800 on Riverdance tickets and call the expense "San Diego Civic Center for Republican Women Federated/Fundraising” for the FEC report.

The Hunters are also accused of using more than $4,000 in campaign funds to pay for trips to attend Pittsburg Steelers' games, according to the indictment.

Hunter, 41, is a second-generation lawmaker; his father served in the House from 1980 to 2008. The younger Hunter is a former U.S. Marine and serves on the House Armed Services Committee.

Hunter’s indictment endangers a traditionally conservative southern California seat long held by Republicans, including Hunter’s father, Duncan Hunter, Sr., a legend in the San Diego area. Within minutes of the indictment, Cook Political Report announced that it would move Hunter’s seat from “solid” Republican to “likely" Republican, noting that the race suddenly became competitive.

Republicans in the San Diego area and in Washington decided months ago to stick with Hunter rather than force him to retire, taking his word that the matter would go away. It’s why Hunter soundly defeated several Republicans who challenged him for the seat earlier this year — one, a local GOP major who warned that Hunter’s indictment would leave Republicans without a candidate.

Now, the party’s decision is backfiring. Hunter’s name will continue to appear on the ballot this fall next to a progressive Democrat, Ammar-Campa Najjar, rather than another Republican.

In a statement, Campa-Najjar said “The division, chaos and corruption in Washington has gone too far”—and called for San Diego to elect him.

“Today’s indictment confirms just how deep this corruption can reach when someone like Duncan Hunter Jr. is in it for himself instead of representing the people,” he said. “Now is the time to put country over party and rise against this corruption and rise above the divisive politics. Together, we can bring real change and fresh thinking to represent the people of CA-50."