The indictment of Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., on Tuesday was a bombshell even amid a frenzied national news day, leading House Speaker Paul Ryan to say the Republican congressman will be stripped of his seat on House Armed Services and other committees.
But the 47-page case laid out by federal prosecutors is also a riveting read and a detailed description of how Hunter and his wife, Margaret Hunter, allegedly stole more than $250,000 to fund their lavish lifestyle over about seven years.
The stolen funds went to golf outings, vacations, fancy restaurants, booze and groceries, airfare for a rabbit, and a host of everyday personal expenses, according to federal prosecutors.
Here are some of the most striking takeaways from the indictment:
F— the Navy
The Hunter family’s $14,200 vacation to Italy stands out even among the numerous instances of misused campaign money.
Hunter allegedly tried to set up a tour of a U.S. Navy base in Italy that could be used to claim the 2015 jaunt as a justified expense. But the Navy told the congressman it did not have the date open.
“Tell the Navy to go f— themselves,” Hunter allegedly told his chief of staff. Margaret Hunter then told the campaign treasurer the vacation charges “were mostly military/defense meet related.”
Hawaiian shorts
Hunter served as an infantry officer in the Marine Corps and fought in Fallujah, Iraq, a fact he often raised as a House Armed Services member.
In 2015, he had again run out of money and wanted to buy a pair of “Hawaiian shorts,” according to the indictment. Margaret Hunter told him to buy the shorts at a pro golf club so they could tell the campaign they spent the money on golf balls for wounded veterans.
His wife also allegedly tapped the veterans cause to cover stealing campaign cash. She spent $216 at a sporting goods store on running shoes and some other items, and then told the campaign treasurer it was for an annual dove hunting event to benefit wounded veterans.
Personal finances
The Hunters’ private finances were almost always in crisis, according to the indictment. Prosecutors say they spent way more than they earned, and Hunter and his wife had overdrawn their bank account more than 1,100 times during the seven-year period covered in the indictment, ringing up nearly $37,800 in overdraft charges.
They maxed out credit cards and were charged $24,600 in interest and fees.
In 2012, Hunter allegedly used $59 in campaign cash for a pair of athletic shorts after six insufficient fund fees and one overdraft fee over the previous week left the family bank account with a negative balance.
The rabbit
Charges that Hunter used campaign funds to fly his family’s pet rabbit to Washington emerged more than a year ago as the congressman was facing an ethics investigation.
It immediately became one of the more memorable allegations, referred to as the “rabbit saga” by CNN. But his campaign called it an “exaggeration” and an “oversight” at the time.
The indictment on Monday confirms the expenditure in July 2014, mentioning only a “family pet.” But prosecutors put the cost at $250, while Hunter’s staff said in 2017 that it was a $600 charge.
Near the end
The wheels seemed to be coming off the scheme by Hunter and his wife by March 2016, according to the indictment.
The congressman had just filed the campaign’s year-end report for 2015 and admitted 67 charges worth $1,300 were actually personal. But prosecutors say he was concealing thousands of dollars in other illegal expenses for the year, and the campaign treasurer had also been questioning Margaret Hunter for 10 months about spending irregularities.
Hunter allegedly started March with a two-day Washington, D.C., partying spree that burned through $1,163 in campaign cash. It included a bachelor party at Jack Rose Dining Saloon and 30 shots of tequila at El Tamarindo restaurant.
He ended the month with a $669 Easter brunch and days of drinks, golfing and a hotel room for a friend’s visit.
As the pressure mounted over the campaign funds, Margaret Hunter allegedly used campaign cash five different times during March, including $668 for her nephew’s airplane tickets and $271 for a gaming keyboard and mouse, according to the indictment.
In early April, the Federal Election Commission contacted the couple about their spending.
