On Thursday, Republican Representative Duncan Hunter denied charges filed against him and his wife which claim he used campaign funds for personal spending, saying they were “pure politics.”
The couple was indicted on the charges, but pleaded not guilty. They are accused of having used $250,000 for personal expenses and filing false records. In a Fox News interview, Hunter said many of the trips the two made were in fact fundraisers.
“That’s how we campaign and try to raise money is by traveling, having dinners, meeting people and raising more money. That’s how people get to hear me and hear what I have to say, and they donate money,” Hunter added.
He said, nonetheless, that his campaign made some mistakes and spent money, but added that he paid the money back prior to his last election. “I paid back $60,000 dollars after I did an objective audit. This is pure politics,” he asserted.
Hunter was particularly pressed about an accusation that his wife told him to buy a piece of clothing while on vacation using campaign money and describe the purchase later as “[golf] balls for the wounded warriors.”
The congressman said he didn’t remember ever doing that and added it is something he would never do. Hunter further said he was a “prolific fundraiser” who raised “millions and millions of dollars for the Republican party, and for myself and other candidates.”
Further on in the interview Hunter also noted that his wife handled all of their family expenses, reiterating once again that he did nothing of what he has been accused of doing.
“When I went away to Iraq in 2003, the first time, I gave her power of attorney. She handled my finances throughout my entire military career and that continued on when I got into Congress… She was also the campaign manager so whatever she did, that’ll be looked at too, I’m sure, but I didn’t do it.”
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