Rep. Duncan Hunter, the so-called “vaping Congressman” and one of President Trump’s staunchest allies in Congress, was indicted Tuesday for using campaign funds for a whole bunch of absurd shenanigans, including buying clothes at a golf course and passing it off as “balls for the Wounded Warriors.”The indictment unsealed Tuesday came after a year-long investigation from the Department of Justice into Hunter and his wife and campaign manager, Margaret, alleging they “knowingly conspired with each other” to personally misspend $250,000 of campaign funds for things like buying groceries, personal gifts, and airfare for the family bunny.They overdrew their personal bank account more than 1,100 times in a seven-year period. That’s a few times each week, at least, and resulted in nearly $40,000 in overdraft fees alone. Hunter said he made his wife Margaret campaign manager because she “needed the extra money” that would come from the salary, according to court documents.
But that’s just the beginning. Here are some other insane expenditures the congressman allegedly made with campaign funds:
- Bought video games for the family and falsely reported them to the FEC as fraudulent charges.
- In all, the two spent more than $1,500 at Steam Games on video games, which Hunter previously had blamed on his son. In August 2010, Hunter bought a $40 game from the Apple Store and a $1,199 iMac computer.
- Margaret picked up $85 worth of books and puzzles at Barnes & Noble, but told the campaign treasurer that she just bought “booklets for San Diego.”
- Hunter bought a round of golf and beers using a campaign card and the treasurer asked whether it was campaign related, Hunter responded “Yessir.” He’d give the same response when asked about nearly $2,000 in Steelers tickets.
- Spent hundreds on iPhone camera lenses at the Apple Store. He also boosted his wife’s salary to $2,500 a month from $2,000 in 2013.
- Hunter dropped $399 on a zipline ride during an expensive trip to a Pennsylvania resort
- After Hunter went golfing in October 2014 and put more than $200 on the campaign card, he told his Treasurer it was a “Christian thing” with a supporter
- Margaret shelled out about $1,800 at the dentist to pay out an overdue balance. To disguise that payment, she told the Treasurer it was for a charity called “Smiles for Life.”
- After the family shelled out more than $14,000 on a trip to Italy, Hunter attempted to set up a tour at a U.S. naval facility there to make the excursion look campaign-related. Navy officials couldn’t comply with the particular date he wanted to visit, so Hunter told his chief of staff to “tell the Navy to go fuck themselves.”