Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., may have illegally spent campaign funds on at least five women who are not his wife — whom he has blamed for financial wrongdoing that has gotten them both indicted.
The California Republican and his wife Margaret were indicted last month on 60 counts related to spending more than $250,000 in campaign cash on themselves, but prosecutors say the “family values” lawmaker may have spent some of that on women with whom he was having a “personal relationship,” reported The San Diego Union-Tribune.
The Hunters overdrew their bank account more than 1,100 times in seven years and were penalized nearly $38,000 in overdraft and other fees, and they also maxed out their credit cards and were hit with about $24,600 in fees and penalties.
Prosecutors say the congressman spent some of the campaign money on five individuals living in Washington, D.C.
Defense attorney Gregory Vega wrote a letter to the Department of Justice complaining that prosecutors had notified him that they have photos of an intoxicated Hunter and some of those women.
“While there may be evidence of infidelity, irresponsibility or alcohol dependence, once properly understood, the underlying facts do not equate to criminal activity,” Vega wrote.
Politico reported in February that Hunter had a reputation for partying and that federal investigators had been eying his activities, but the 41-year-old Hunter dismissed the reports as “tabloid trash.”
Hunter and then President Donald Trump have blamed the indictment on partisan bias, without any proof, within the Department of Justice intended to sway the midterm elections.
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