The increasingly ugly case against California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter appears to have finally come to its inglorious end after the congressman reversed his previous position and pleaded guilty to campaign finance violation charges and one charge of conspiracy. The guilty plea comes after the congressman blamed his wife for egregious campaign spending violations amounting to some $250,000 and amid allegations of multiple affairs by the reportedly “cash-strapped” San Diego representative.
The New York Post broke the news of Hunter’s guilty plea on Monday. “Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Ca.), who was hit with federal charges of illegally swiping more than $250,000 in campaign funds to cover personal expenses, will plead guilty in the case, his attorney told The Post on Monday,” the outlet reported.
Paul Pfingst, Hunter’s attorney, also told the Post Monday that as part of his plea deal, his client will plead guilty to a conspiracy count.
The case started back in August 2018, when Hunter and his wife Margaret, who were reportedly “mired in personal debt,” were charged with campaign finance violations amounting to $250,000 of campaign funds directed to personal expenses, which allegedly include Hunter’s multiple extramarital affairs.
After a year-long investigation, Hunter and his wife were charged with “wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy,” the Post reported in August 2018. “A 48-page indictment charged the Hunters with lavish spending from 2009 to 2016, including family vacations to Italy and Hawaii, school tuition, theater tickets and even dental bills.”
In response, Hunter blamed his wife, saying that he gave her full control of his campaign’s finances while he was deployed in Iraq as a Marine and she continued to control the money upon his return.
“[Margaret] was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did, that’ll be looked at too, I’m sure,” the congressman told Fox News in August. “But I didn’t do it. I didn’t spend any money illegally.”
While he admitted that his campaign “did make mistakes,” Hunter maintained that the money illegally directed to personal expenses was spent “not by me but by the campaign.” He also stressed that he paid back the money before the election.
The congressman’s reversal comes months after his wife pleaded guilty in June and agreed to help the investigation into her embattled husband.
Among the expenditures, the indictment charged, Hunter and his wife spent campaign funds on “family vacations to Italy and Hawaii, tuition for their children, theater tickets, groceries, restaurant bills, dental visits and even plane tickets for their pet bunny, Eggburt, to travel alongside them,” the Post details.
According to a motion filed by the Justice Department in California’s Southern District in June, Hunter also used campaign funds to pay for some of his affairs with politicos and a congressional staffer between 2010 and 2016.
“Carrying out all these affairs did not come cheap — Hunter spent thousands of dollars treating women to meals, drinks, and vacations, and traveling to and from their homes,” the motion reads, as the Post reported. “Given the pronounced financial difficulties the Hunters were facing, his use of campaign funds to pursue these relationships was necessary for Hunter to satisfy his desire for intimacy.”