Yep, there goes another one

But this one is because he got busted in illegal activity.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) announced Tuesday that he plans to resign his congressional seat effective next week after pleading guilty to charges of campaign finance violations last month.

Hunter announced his plans to step down from his seat when changing his plea from not guilty in early December. The congressman said his resignation will be effective Jan. 13.

  The Hill

There goes another one

Three in less than two weeks.  Of course, this one is also a criminal, so his reason to quit is a little different.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) said Friday he will soon resign his seat in Congress, bowing to the inevitable after pleading guilty this week to illegally using campaign finance funds for personal matters.

In a statement, Hunter said he would resign “shortly after the holidays,” but the sixth-term Republican did not specify a date. The House is expected to return from its holiday recess on Jan. 7.

  Politico

I'd like to hear his reason for not stepping down immediately.

San Diego city councilman Carl DeMaio [...] accused Hunter of manipulating his resignation timeline to avoid a special election for the duration of his term.

“The voters of the 50th District deserve having their voice back in Congress as soon as possible, and only a special election can give the voters a voice again,” DeMaio said in a statement.

[...]

“Shortly after the holidays, I will resign from Congress,” Hunter said. “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.”

Obviously misplaced trust.

His career unraveled as questions about his campaign spending spurred a federal investigation, leading Hunter, 42, to agree with prosecutors this week that he and his wife had channeled some $150,000 toward themselves.

[...]

Since Hunter’s guilty plea on Tuesday, congressional leaders have been circling to seek his resignation, and the House ethics committee sent him a letter Thursday warning that he would run afoul of House rules if he voted on the floor following his criminal conviction.

And that's what did it. Up until that letter, he wasn't going to leave. ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Duncan Hunter: Guilty

Hunter: Misuse of campaign funds (he and his wife spent more than a quarter million on fun stuff)

Collins: Insider trading (conspiracy to commit securities fraud) and lying to the FBI

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

A first order of business

Hours after taking control of the House of Representatives for the first time since 2010, Democrats on Thursday night approved a series of rules changes to force lawmakers – and not taxpayers – to pay any legal judgments against members concerning treatment of House employees, and sets up a special committee to examine issues related to climate change.

[...]

The plan also extends the ban on sexual relationships between lawmakers and House employees to those who serve on House committees.

  WSBTV

I want to know why they were exempt in the first place.

New ethics rules [...] require any lawmaker indicted or charged with a felony to step down from any leadership post and committees while those allegations are dealt with.

It [also requires] more speedy action by the House Ethics Committee to review such cases; the plan [...] directly impact[s] two GOP lawmakers now under federal indictment, Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) – who has been charged with misuse of over $250,000 in campaign funds – and Rep. Chris Collins (R-NY), who is under indictment for insider trading.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 12/3/19: Collins and Hunter both plead guilty.

Somebody's upset

Such class.

I don't know which lawsuits he's talking about, but there's no law dictating a moratorium on lawsuits around the midterms.  There's time.



No.  The Democrats loved James Comey since the day he stopped Alberto Gonzales from pulling a fast one at the hospital bed of John Ashcroft.



Somebody tell him about the New Yorker Festival and finish off his day.  (And does he know that Avenatti is going to run if the Democrats don't put up a candidate he's confident will beat Trump? A "street fighter" as Avenatti puts it.)

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.


UPDATE 9/4:

The presumed two Congressmen:

Trump did not name the congressmen he was talking about. But last month Duncan Hunter, a California representative, was charged with misuse of campaign funds while Chris Collins of New York was indicted for insider trading – over a share tip alleged to have been made in 2017, when Trump was in power.

The two men were Trump’s first supporters in the House. Hunter will run for re-election. Collins will step down.

  Guardian

I suspect Hunter will step down, too. Not only did he spend wildly on personal things from his campaign funds, he then blamed his wife.



UPDATE 12/3/19:  Guilty:

Hunter: Misuse of campaign funds (he and his wife spent more than a quarter million on fun stuff)

Collins: Insider trading (conspiracy to commit securities fraud) and lying to the FBI

Do not try this at home

A little more detail on the incredible Hunters.

That works out to significantly more than 150 overdrafts per year, 13 overdrafts per month and about three overdrafts per week, every single week, over seven years.

Those are astonishing numbers, and data from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau suggests that chronic overdrafters like the Hunters are not common.

[...]

“Their credit cards were frequently charged to the credit limit, often with five-figure balances,” according to the indictment.

[...]

The Hunters maintained that precarious financial position for years, the indictment alleges, despite pulling in an annual congressional salary of $174,000. Hunter is in fact one of the poorest members of Congress, with an estimated net worth of negative-$387,000, according to an analysis of his 2015 financial disclosure forms by the Center for Responsive Politics.

  WaPo

And the treasurer of Hunter's campaign coffers was constantly warning them about illegal claims for usage of that money. It's not like no one knew these people were gaming the system.

On May 1, 2011, Hunter warned during debt limit negotiations that “America can no longer afford to borrow and spend its way to prosperity” and that “Washington doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem."

That is rich. And typical Republican game play: always accuse the other guy of the crooked shit you're doing  - or in the case of sexual preference: always come down hard on other gays so people think you're not.

 ...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 12/3/19:  Hunter pleads guilty.

"A Christian thing"

Duncan Hunter got lucky.  His indictment came out on the same day that Manafort was convicted and Cohen turned himself in.

Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife Margaret were indicted Tuesday on charges that they misused more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses.

  The Hill

You gotta read this one to believe it. I wonder how they got away with it for so long. Throughout the indictment there are mentions of the treasurer of their campaign fund informing them that various purchases were "impermissible".  Their personal bank account was constantly overdrawn, bills went unpaid, and eventually they depleted the campaign account.  There are  pages of "impermissible" purchases, mostly dining out, personal items and family vacations (right down to luggage purchased for a trip to Italy).

Following are just a few of the more outrageous claims that required false reporting.  There are two hundred items listed in the indictment under "Overt Acts".































Well, hell, it WAS free.  And maybe the friend won't ever see her again.  Or at least for a while.

(These examples I chose are all Margaret's because, as paid "campaign manager", she had to provide reasons for her expenditures.  As the politician, Duncan just had to verbally state that his expenditures were "campaign related", so he didn't have to be clever. )

Drain that swamp.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.



UPDATE:



UPDATE:

Do not try this at home.

UPDATE 12/3/19:  Hunter pleads guilty.

A challenge!

Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter (Calif.) said Friday night that President Trump wouldn't last long under torture.

Hunter, who served three overseas tours in Iraq and Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, was responding to Trump's previous criticism of Sen. John McCain's (R-Ariz.) imprisonment in Vietnam.

"Not very long," Hunter said when asked by HBO's Bill Maher on his show "Real Time."

  The Hill

Maybe he'll take that as a challenge.

The congressman is currently facing a federal investigation due to questions about his campaign finances.

Must be a Republican thing this year.

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

UPDATE 12/3/19:  Hunter pleads guilty.