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.
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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.
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Kathryn is a graduate of Syracuse University, with degrees in magazine journalism and information technology, along with hours to earn another degree after working at SU's independent paper The Daily Orange. She's currently recovering from a horse addiction while living in New York City, and likes to share her extremely dry sense of humor on Twitter.
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