5 jawdropping revelations in GOP Rep. Duncan Hunter's indictment

Amid guilty verdicts for Paul Manafort and guilty pleas from Michael Cohen, it was easy to miss another one of President Trump's affiliates going down Tuesday.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were indicted on a number of charges, including some notable campaign finance violations. Hunter was the second congressman to endorse Trump — Rep. Chris Collins (R-N.Y.) was the first, and he also took on some financial crime charges earlier this month. And much like former Trump campaign chairman Manafort's ostrich jacket revelation, Hunter's indictment painted a vivid picture of his gilded lifestyle. Here are five of the most incredible pieces of the indictment:

1. The Hunter family loves to read, allegedly spending $2,500 of campaign funds at Barnes & Noble. Another $2,200 went to fund a voracious crafting habit at Michaels.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

2. About four days after Mother's Day in 2016, Hunter treated his mom to a $560 steak dinner.

3. Just like your average college student, Hunter once whittled his personal bank account down to a balance of $15.02. That same day, the Hunter family's account had a negative balance and accrued $198 in insufficient funds fees. Meanwhile, the congressman was on a Lake Tahoe vacation — funded with more than $1,000 in campaign money.

4. Hunter really, really likes Hawaiian shorts, so Margaret convinced him to use campaign funds to buy some at a golf pro shop. This way, they could later say the purchase was "some [golf] balls for the wounded warriors," Margaret apparently said.

5. This one is summed up best with the indictment itself.

Beyond losing a good deal of money, Hunter has now lost a lot of ground for the midterms this fall. Cook Political Report shifted Hunter's "solid" Republican district to simply "lean" Republican, bypassing the "likely" stage that usually comes in between.