What Duncan Hunter is saying about the Justice Department probe into his campaign finances
In an interview Wednesday, March 29, Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Alpine denied breaking any laws but wouldn’t say who is responsible for tens of thousands of dollars in charges to his campaign account that spurred an ongoing criminal probe by the Justice Department.
In what may be his first in-person public comments since news of the investigation broke last week, Hunter, who represents most of Temecula, told POLITICO: “I was not involved in any criminal action. Maybe I wasn’t attentive enough to my campaign. That’s not a crime.”
Since last year, Hunter has faced increasing scrutiny over his campaign expenses, from charges from online video games – he said his son mistakenly used a campaign credit card – to expenses for an oral and facial surgeon, money that went toward tuition for his children’s private school to grocery bills, fast food meals, costs tied to purchases in Italy and Disneyland and charges made at a surf shop and repairs to a garage door at his home.
Federal law forbids spending campaign money on personal expenses. Hunter, who commissioned an outside audit of his campaign account, later took out a personal loan to repay about $49,000 in expenses and has reimbursed his campaign to the tune of $60,000 total.
Read more: http://www.pe.com/articles/laws-828588-breaking-thousands.html
