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CHARGED WITH FRAUD, DUNCAN HUNTER THROWS HIS WIFE UNDER BUS
Facing an inventory of campaign-finance violations that would make Paul Manafort blush, the California congressman is blaming his wife.
California Rep. Duncan Hunter was only one of the four Donald Trump allies slammed by the justice system this week, and possibly the least consequential of the bunch, but according to the unsealed indictment charging him with dozens of counts of campaign-finance fraud, the allegations against him are the most eye-popping. By the diminished standards of a congressman on a government salary, Hunter’s expenses rival Paul Manafort’s lavish lifestyle of rugs and an ostrich jacket: prosecutors allege that Hunter and his wife, Margaret Hunter, used the campaign’s coffers to buy housing supplies from Costco and Target, pay tuition and dental bills for their children, fund a more than $14,000 family vacation to Italy, and spent $250 dollars to bring a pet on a flight—all while racking up personal overdraft fees totaling more than $37,000. (Hunter and his wife have pleaded not guilty.)
“This is pure politics,” Hunter protested Thursday night on Fox News, saying that the charges were filed just before his re-election, and implying that the “Democrats’ arm of law enforcement” had it out for him. But he didn’t stop with the tried-and-true talking points: “When I went away to Iraq in 2003, the first time, I gave [Margaret] power of attorney. She handled my finances throughout my entire military career, and that continued on when I got into Congress,” he told Martha MacCallum, effectively blaming his wife for the scandal. “She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did, that’ll be looked at too, I’m sure, but I didn’t do it.”
Not to worry, all you Republicans out there, he's still the favorite in his district.
Facing an inventory of campaign-finance violations that would make Paul Manafort blush, the California congressman is blaming his wife.
California Rep. Duncan Hunter was only one of the four Donald Trump allies slammed by the justice system this week, and possibly the least consequential of the bunch, but according to the unsealed indictment charging him with dozens of counts of campaign-finance fraud, the allegations against him are the most eye-popping. By the diminished standards of a congressman on a government salary, Hunter’s expenses rival Paul Manafort’s lavish lifestyle of rugs and an ostrich jacket: prosecutors allege that Hunter and his wife, Margaret Hunter, used the campaign’s coffers to buy housing supplies from Costco and Target, pay tuition and dental bills for their children, fund a more than $14,000 family vacation to Italy, and spent $250 dollars to bring a pet on a flight—all while racking up personal overdraft fees totaling more than $37,000. (Hunter and his wife have pleaded not guilty.)
“This is pure politics,” Hunter protested Thursday night on Fox News, saying that the charges were filed just before his re-election, and implying that the “Democrats’ arm of law enforcement” had it out for him. But he didn’t stop with the tried-and-true talking points: “When I went away to Iraq in 2003, the first time, I gave [Margaret] power of attorney. She handled my finances throughout my entire military career, and that continued on when I got into Congress,” he told Martha MacCallum, effectively blaming his wife for the scandal. “She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did, that’ll be looked at too, I’m sure, but I didn’t do it.”
Not to worry, all you Republicans out there, he's still the favorite in his district.
