California Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife apparently ran a pretty great scam for themselves, using campaign donations to plump up their own lifestyles. The Los Angeles Times noted some of the more audacious purchases by the Republican, which totaled more than $250,000.
They dropped more than $14,000 on a family vacation in Italy. They racked up $3,300 at In-N-Out, Carl’s Jr, Taco Bell and other fast-food restaurants. Over the years, prosecutors allege, Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife, Margaret, picked up Fandango movie tickets, a $250 airplane ride for the family rabbit, video games and vitamins from Costco — and once, 30 tequila shots for a bachelor party.
“Our treat,” Hunter (R-Alpine) and his wife told their friends when they picked up the $1,164 tab at the Montage resort in Laguna Beach for food and drinks.
Tequila shots, luxury ski weekends, a cross-country flight for their pet rabbit, video gaming expenditures: that’s the tip of the iceberg. It’s the following expenditure that will make your stomach turn, that best exemplifies just how devoid of values these people really are at their core: Duncan and Margaret Hunter made purchases for themselves and then disguised them as donations for wounded veterans. From the Washington Post:
2. Margaret Hunter allegedly spent $200 on tennis shoes at Dick’s Sporting Goods, which she then claimed as being for an annual dove hunting event for wounded warriors.
3. When Hunter told his wife he needed to “buy my Hawaii shorts,” but he was out of money, she allegedly told him to buy them from a golf pro shop so he could claim they were actually golf balls for wounded warriors.
And when the U.S. Navy wouldn’t play along with his plan to justify an expensive trip to Italy, Hunter reportedly told them to “go fuck themselves.”
7. In an attempt to justify spending campaign funds on a family trip to Italy, Hunter asked a naval base there for a tour. When officials said they couldn’t do it then, Hunter said, “Tell the Navy to go f--- themselves.”
I’m starting to think the Republicans are not sending their best people to Congress. Hunter himself is a United States Marine and is still in the Marine Reserves. That status may change if he is convicted, and one would think a felony conviction would result in a court martial and dishonorable discharge.