In what is a never-ending saga of politicians misusing funds for their own benefit, former Republican Representative Duncan Hunter, was sentenced to 11 months in prison and three years of parole for corruption charges. He previously pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to misuse campaign funds of more than $200,000. This makes Calgary counsellor Joe Magliocca’s ongoing expense account scandal seem like a walk in the park.
Hunter, who represents the northeastern San Diego area, had previously denied using campaign funds to pay for multiple personal expenses including an Italian vacation, groceries, video games and bedding. After multiple denials, and then using the oldest trick in the book, blaming his wife, Hunter had a change of heart and pled guilty in December 2019.
Sitting emotionlessly in court while the judge handed down the sentence, Hunter rose to tell the court that despite previous denials, he takes “full responsibility for any dime that was spent by me or anyone else on my campaign.”
Assistant US Attorney Phillip Halpen asked for a 14-month jail sentence. In doing so, he responded to Hunter’s character in a lengthy 87-page recommendation:
Defendant Duncan Hunter launched an improper, wide ranging, and dangerous assault on our system of justice. As part of the disingenuous attempt to deflect attention from his own criminal conduct, Hunter repeatedly attacked this nation’s very system of government, including Congress, the FBI, the Department of Justice in general, and individual prosecutors in particular.
In response, Hunter’s lawyers argued that he served his country with honor and distinction, admitted her broke the law and should serve 11 months of house arrest with 1,000 hours of community service.
Home detention, moreover, is a substantial deprivation of liberty. It is a 24/7 restriction to the home with narrowly-tailored exceptions for community service, work, medical treatment and church attendance.
In specific response to the prosecutor’s sentencing memo, defence counsel attacked the original plea bargain deal in which the prosecutor offered a jail sentence of 8-14 years for the same guilty plea. This raises a very good point about how the prosecutor could possibly have changed their position from 8-14 years in jail, to 14 months in jail.
Both Duncan and his wife were indicted in August of 2018 for using the funds to pay for person expenses which led to his stepping down from his congressional committee assignments.
Remarkably, despite being indicted for misusing campaign funds, Rep. Hunter went on to be re-elected. This begs the question, how bad was his opponent that he or she couldn’t beat a person accused of stealing donor money.
After winning re-election, Hunter resigned from Congress in January 2019.
Hunter was found to have spent over $200,000 on personal expenses including a $14,000 Italian vacation and thousands of dollars on random household items. Hunter’s wife was also indicted and has yet to be sentenced, though Hunter himself asked the judge to spare his wife jail, who is the mother of his three children.
Cory Wilson is a Calgary criminal lawyer serving clients in all of Alberta. If you have been charged with a criminal offence or are a suspect in a criminal investigation, call today for a free, no obligation consultation.
