The Justice Department has released some additional details regarding its criminal complaint against Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr. (CA-50). These new details help flesh out Hunters use of campaign funds in support of at least five extra-marital affairs that he was conducting while doing the people’s business in Washington.
In the filing, prosecutors detail numerous instances in which Hunter allegedly used campaign cash to fund his affairs. In one episode in 2010, Hunter allegedly took a lobbyist on a "double date” road trip to Virginia Beach with a fellow congressman and then charged his campaign for the hotel room and bar tab.
In another incident in 2015, Hunter allegedly took a House leadership aide out for cocktails and then took an Uber back to his office after they spent the night together. Both expenses were charged to his campaign account, prosecutors say.
And Hunter also allegedly became intimately involved with a woman who worked in his congressional office in 2015, regularly paying for their dates with campaign funds.
Hunter initially blamed his wife for his family’s use of over $250,000 in campaign funds for a variety of personal expenses, but she has changed her plea to guilty and is cooperating with prosecutors. Aside from Hunter’s original statement blaming her for all the misappropriations, I suspect that the fact that he was using some of the stolen funds to pay for his affairs possible influence her decision.
Young Duncan may have developed his interest in stealing from others from his father, Duncan Hunter Senior, who in 2007 was named by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) as one of the most corrupt members of congress.
The CREW reported summarized its complaints: “Rep. Hunter’s ethical issues stem from his connection to a number of people at the center of the largest military corruption scandal of the decade -- connections that have been investigated by the FBI4 -- and his earmarks for projects that benefit his defense industry political donors, but that the military does not want.”
In addition to ethical issues surrounding his official work, CREW noted, “Rep. Hunter purchased his home in a questionable land deal, escaped paying full property taxes for many years on the home and gave conflicting reports of the property’s true value. Rep. Hunter also used the power of his office to financially benefit his brother and his presidential campaign has violated federal election law.” CREW further criticized Hunter for his close relationship with Randy “Duke” Cunningham, who was convicted of bribery and described Hunter as his “mentor”, as well as Hunter’s
relationships with other key players in the Cunningham scandal.
Duke Cunningham was convicted of accepting over $2.3 million in bribes primarily from two corporations that ultimately received millions of dollars in government contracts. Clearly, Hunter Senior was far more careful in his corrupt activities than either his son or his protege Cunningham. However, Hunter Senior did find it necessary to contribute all of his campaign contributions for Cunningham’s bribery partners to charity.