August 21, 2018 A Republican congressman from California and his wife were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday over the suspected misuse of $250,000 of campaign funds, authorities said. / AFP PHOTO / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / JOE RAEDLE
LOS ANGELES, United States (AFP) — A Republican congressman from California and his wife were indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday over the suspected misuse of $250,000 of campaign funds, authorities said.
Duncan and Margaret Hunter are accused of syphoning the cash over seven years for family vacations to Hawaii and Italy, dental bills, theater tickets and numerous other non-campaign expenses.
US Attorney Adam Braverman said in a statement that Hunter, 41, and his 43-year-old wife were accused of having “repeatedly dipped into campaign coffers as if they were personal bank accounts.”
“Elected representatives should jealously guard the public’s trust, not abuse their positions for personal gain,” he added.
The Hunters are scheduled to be arraigned early Thursday in federal court in San Diego, the Justice Department said in a statement.
Republican strategists have worried that the case could jeopardize Hunter’s traditionally safe district, covering most of eastern San Diego County, in November’s midterm elections. Hunter is the son of a former lawmaker of the same name.
The charges — the result of a year-long federal investigation — take in wire fraud, falsifying records, campaign finance violations and conspiracy.
Federal prosecutors said they identified “scores of instances” between 2009 and 2016 in which the Hunters used campaign funds to pay for “personal expenses that they could not otherwise afford.”
There were numerous smaller purchases, prosecutors allege, such as golf outings, movie tickets, video games, coffee and expensive meals.
The couple are accused of misreporting the expenses on Federal Election Commission filings, using false descriptions such as “campaign travel,” “dinner with volunteers/contributors” and “gift cards.”
The indictments came on a day of devastating news for the Republican Party, with President Donald Trump accused of conspiring to commit campaign fraud and two former aides facing jail over charges stemming from a federal investigation into the 2016 presidential election.
© Agence France-Presse