Man Who Used to Be Remembered for Vaping Now Remembered for Campaign Finance Violations

By Caitlin Cruz  |  December 3, 2019 | 2:13am
NewsPolitics
Man Who Used to Be Remembered for Vaping Now Remembered for Campaign Finance Violations
Photo:Sandy Huffaker (Getty Images)

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will not longer be remembered primarily for vaping in Congress. Instead, it will (hopefully) be for pleading guilty to one count of campaign finance violation, which Hunter is expected to do on Tuesday morning.

“The plea I accepted is misuse of my own campaign funds, of which I pled guilty to only one count. I think it’s important that people know that I did make mistakes,”Hunter told the television station KUSI. “I did not properly monitor or account for my campaign money. I justify my plea with the understanding that I am responsible for my own campaign and my own campaign money.”

It’s unclear if Hunter will step down from his congressional seat, but he told KUSI that his office will remain open.

In June, it was reported that his own wife — who was also indicted — was going to testify against him. Hunter’s plea change was made in an attempt to shield his kids. “Whatever my time in custody will be, I will take that hit,” Hunter told the television station. “My only hope is that the judge does not sentence my wife to jail. I think my kids need a mom in the home.”

After Hunter and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were indicted in August 2018, Hunter maintained that he was a victim of a “witch hunt” and did nothing wrong. “There has been a constant barrage of misinformation and salacious headlines in our media regarding this matter,” he said in a statement to the Union-Tribune in August. “I purposely choose to remain silent, not to feed into this witch-hunt and trust the process.”

The Hunter family has represented a congressional district in the San Diego area for nearly four decades. What a nice ending to a legacy.

 
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