FILE PHOTO: U.S. Representative Duncan Hunter leaves federal court after pleading guilty to misusing campaign funds in San Diego, California, U.S., December 3, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Blake
December 6, 2019
(Reuters) – U.S. lawmaker Duncan Hunter will step down from his office, he said on Friday, days after pleading guilty to a federal charge of conspiring to misuse campaign funds.
“Shortly after the Holidays I will resign from Congress. It has been an honor to serve the people of California’s 50th District, and I greatly appreciate the trust they have put in me over these last 11 years,” Hunter said in a statement.
Hunter, a California Republican, faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the crime, but his attorney has said prosecutors have agreed to recommend significantly less time than that.
Hunter and his wife, Margaret, were indicted in 2018 on charges of misappropriating $250,000 in campaign donations to pay for personal expenses, including their children’s private school tuition, lavish travel, expensive meals at restaurants, groceries and clothing.
Hunter, 42, a U.S. Marine Corps combat veteran and early supporter of President Donald Trump, had originally pleaded not guilty in the case and insisted he was the victim of a politically motivated prosecution.
He changed his plea to guilty on Tuesday, saying he wanted to spare his family the stress of a trial.
Sentencing was set for March 17.
Margaret Hunter pleaded guilty in June to conspiring to misuse campaign funds, and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the case. She has yet to be sentenced.
(Reporting by Makini Brice in Washington and Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by Chris Reese and Bill Berkrot)
