{"id":14770,"date":"2018-08-24T12:13:55","date_gmt":"2018-08-24T12:13:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/uncategorized\/2018\/08\/24\/congressman-accused-of-abusing-campaign-funds-denies-any-wrongdoing\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T20:12:05","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T20:12:05","slug":"congressman-accused-of-abusing-campaign-funds-denies-any-wrongdoing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/defensenews\/congress\/2018\/08\/24\/congressman-accused-of-abusing-campaign-funds-denies-any-wrongdoing\/","title":{"rendered":"Congressman accused of abusing campaign funds denies any wrongdoing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">WASHINGTON \u2014 Rep. Duncan Hunter on Thursday denied any wrongdoing related to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.militarytimes.com\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/21\/duncan-hunter-gop-lawmaker-and-marine-vet-indicted-on-corruption-charges\/\" target=_blank>a federal indictment<\/a> accusing him of misusing more than $250,000 in campaign funds over six years and appeared to cast blame on his wife for numerous instances of alleged bookkeeping and ethics errors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cMy campaign did make mistakes,\u201d the California Republican and Marine Corps veteran said in a national interview on <a href=\"http:\/\/video.foxnews.com\/v\/5826129043001\/?#sp=show-clips\" target=_blank>Fox News Thursday evening<\/a>. \u201cNot me, but members of my campaign. But I paid that back before the last election, nearly $60,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThis is pure politics, and the prosecutors can make the indictment read like a scandalous novel if they want to.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On Tuesday, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.defensenews.com\/congress\/2018\/08\/22\/what-duncan-hunters-indictment-means-for-defense-issues\/\" target=_blank>federal prosecutors charged Hunter<\/a> and his wife, Margaret, with dozens of counts of fraud and conspiracy for using campaign donations for personal purchases, including vacations, private-school tuition, dental work and alcohol.<\/p>\n\n\n\t<aside class=\"smg-interstitial-link wp-block-smg-interstitial-link\">\n\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/militarytimes\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/22\/charges-against-duncan-hunter-detail-family-vacations-football-tickets-other-luxury-items-with-illegal-funds\/\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__media\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"300\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/1811315.jpg.jpg?w=300\" class=\"smg-interstitial-link__image wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<div class=\"smg-interstitial-link__content\">\n\t\t\t\t<span class=\"smg-interstitial-link__kicker\">Related<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"smg-interstitial-link__title\">Charges against Duncan Hunter detail family vacations, football tickets, other luxury items with illegal funds<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"smg-interstitial-link__excerpt\">The Marine Corps veteran turned Republican lawmaker faces more than 20 years in jail on federal corruption charges.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/a>\n\t<\/aside>\n\t\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The indictment accuses Hunter of repeatedly ignoring warnings about his wife\u2019s use of campaign credit cards and concealing purchases from staff who warned the actions may be against federal law.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both Hunter and his wife, who has worked in various roles in Hunter\u2019s six congressional campaigns, were arraigned in federal court in San Diego on Thursday. Bail was set at $15,000 for the congressman and at $10,000 for his wife, in part because federal officials said the couple\u2019s personal finances are nearly bankrupt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In his Fox News appearance, Hunter said many of the more salacious claims in the indictment were total fabrications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">He insisted a series of trips to Pittsburgh \u2014 which included tickets to professional football games \u2014 were legitimate fundraising activities. Other trips were similarly campaign related or mistakenly billed to the wrong accounts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hunter flatly denied one claim from investigators that he and his wife discussed purchasing a pair of shorts for a vacation to Hawaii and recording the expense as \u201c(golf) balls for wounded warriors\u201d instead of a personal expense.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI don\u2019t remember that, but I would never do that. I\u2019ve never used any campaign money to buy myself anything and slough it off on anybody else,\u201d he said. \u201cJust because somebody may have texted me that, doesn\u2019t mean I did that or had anything to do with that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"3988\" height=\"2659\" src=\"\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-27996\" srcset=\"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg 3988w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg?resize=768,512 768w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg?resize=1024,683 1024w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg?resize=1536,1024 1536w, https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/AP18235624909788-1.jpg.jpg?resize=2048,1366 2048w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 3988px) 100vw, 3988px\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Margaret Hunter, center, the wife of U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter, arrives for an arraignment hearing Thursday, Aug. 23, 2018, in San Diego. Hunter and his wife were indicted this week on federal charges that they used more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses that ranged from groceries to golf trips and lied about it in federal filings, prosecutors said. (AP Photo\/Denis Poroy)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When asked about his wife\u2019s innocence, Hunter noted that she has handled their family\u2019s finances since 2003, when he first deployed overseas with the Marine Corps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWhatever she did, that will be looked at, but I didn\u2019t do it,\u201d he said. \u201cLegally, I did not use campaign money, especially for wounded warrior stuff. There\u2019s just no way.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One allegation Hunter didn\u2019t deny was saying to a campaign manager \u201cf*** the Navy\u201d after service officials wouldn\u2019t accomodate a base visit for him during a trip to Italy in November 2015. The congressman said the trip was a legitimate campaign event, but said his frustration was likely recorded correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI probably said that and many things like that,\u201d he said. \u201cI was in the Marine Corps for a while. I love the Navy and the Marine Corps and all the other services. My Dad was in the Army. My little brother was in the Army. I might talk trash about the Army every now and then too. But it\u2019s all in good fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After the indictment was announced, House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., announced that Hunter would be stripped of all committee assignments until his case is settled.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hunter, a combat veteran of both the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, is a significant voice on military policy in the House and an outspoken member of the House Armed Services Committee. After initially hinting he would fight the committee removals, Hunter sent a note to House leadership on Thursday accepting the decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But he added that \u201cI fully intend to resume my position as an active member of these committees upon a successful resolution of pending legal matters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Hunter faces re-election this November. He has accused federal prosecutors of being activists for the Democratic Party and waiting until now to file the charges in an attempt to undermine his election chances.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As a member of Congress, Hunter makes $174,000 a year. When asked on Fox News if that salary is too low, he said \u201cit\u2019s difficult to live in a place like San Francisco or San Diego or New York or D.C.\u201d on that salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">\u201cThe question for voters, especially for conservative voters I\u2019ve spoken to, if we have a congressman who can\u2019t follow the law, how can we expect him to enforce the law?\u201d he said. \u201cI think there\u2019s a dereliction of duty. I don\u2019t think he\u2019s fit to serve.\u201d<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/tMF70QaLhg\">https:\/\/t.co\/tMF70QaLhg<\/a><\/p>&mdash; Ammar Campa-Najjar (@ACampaNajjar) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/ACampaNajjar\/status\/1032430379326615552?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 23, 2018<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California Republican and Marine Corps veteran Duncan Hunter called the indictment against him a political attack aimed at hurting his re-election chances.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":27989,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-noindex":"","_yoast_wpseo_meta-robots-nofollow":"","_yoast_wpseo_canonical":"","_acf":"","_yoast_wpseo_primary_category":8,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","_smg_distribution_targets":[]},"categories":[8,160,36],"tags":[],"coauthors":[3424],"class_list":["post-14770","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-congress","category-daily-news-roundup","category-newsletters"],"acf":{"subheadline":"","legacy_arc_id":"XHW6FJWN4BA5ZEVT5NFSICMHCE","arc_canonical_url":"\/news\/pentagon-congress\/2018\/08\/24\/congressman-accused-of-abusing-campaign-funds-denies-any-wrongdoing\/","remove_feature_photo":false,"is_sponsored":false,"subtype":"","redirect_url":"","disable_inline_ads":false,"native_logo_pretext":"Presented By:"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.0 (Yoast SEO v28.1) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Congressman accused of abusing campaign funds denies any wrongdoing - Defense News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"California Republican and Marine Corps veteran Duncan Hunter called the indictment against him a political attack aimed at hurting his re-election chances.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Congressman accused of abusing campaign funds denies any wrongdoing\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"California Republican and Marine Corps veteran Duncan Hunter called the indictment against him a political attack aimed at hurting his re-election 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