Statement of the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics

[brooklynite]

Source: House Committee on Ethics

Statement of the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics Regarding Representative Duncan Hunter

Pursuant to Committee Rule 7(g), the Chairwoman and Ranking Member of the Committee on Ethics (Committee) determined on March 23, 2017, to release the following statement:

On August 31, 2016, the Committee on Ethics received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics (OCE) regarding Representative Duncan Hunter. Pursuant to House Rule XI, clause 3(b)(8)(A) and Committee Rules 17A(b)(1)(A), 17A(c)(1) and 17A(j), the Chairman and Ranking Member jointly decided on December 15, 2016 to extend the Committee's review of the matter.

Department of Justice has asked the Committee to defer consideration of this matter and the Committee, following precedent, unanimously voted on March 22, 2017, to defer consideration of this matter at this time. Pursuant to Committee Rule 17A(h)(1), the Committee is making the OCE's Report in this matter public. Under that rule, when the Committee votes to defer in this manner, it must release the Report, but not the Findings, along with a public statement announcing its deferral. At least annually, the Committee will make a public statement if it continues to defer taking action on the matter. The Committee notes that the mere fact of its decision to defer action on this matter, and any mandatory disclosure of that decision and the OCE's Report, does not itself indicate that any violation has occurred.

Read more: https://ethics.house.gov/press-release/statement-chairwoman-and-ranking-member-committee-ethics-regarding-representative

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oops?

[lark]

1. Why was Hunter referred to the ethics committee?

He's a R, so probably guilty, but I'm curious because I don't remember hearing anything about this.

[brooklynite]

3. From the Office of Congressional Ethics submission:

"Representative Duncan D. Hunter’s congressional campaign committee, Duncan D. Hunter for Congress, reported expenditures that may not be legitimate and verifiable campaign expenditures attributable to bona fide campaign or political purposes. Rep. Hunter may have converted tens of thousands of dollars of campaign funds from his congressional campaign committee to personal use to pay for family travel, flights, utilities, health care, school uniforms and tuition, jewelry, groceries, and other goods, services, and expenses."

[haele]

4. He and his wife used his campaign credit card for personal purchases.

They made around $30,000 worth of "mistakes" before they were caught and had to pay the money back.

Just like his daddy and Duke did. But since the Hunters are such GodlyWarriors (tm), why should he think it would matter, right?

Haele

[lark]

5. Thanks

[Marthe48]

8. Dicky Duncan Hunter?

When the weather's hot and sticky there's no time for dunkin' dickie;
when the frost is on the punkin that's the time for dickie dunkin'!

[haele]

2. Hunter Jr. has always been an over-priviledged "oops".

Living off his daddy's reputation for being a "Veteran", a strip-mall-church Bircher and for bringing in the pork. He knows most of the voters in his district still assume the name on the ballot is Daddy Duncan, and also knows most of them don't care about skimming off the profits, because most of the east county VFW and faux rancher types had no problems whatsoever when his Daddy and Duke Cunningham did it back in the day. Duke ended up in jail, and Daddy narrowly avoided that, because Duke was the Dumber one of that pair.

Jr. is still a privileged jerk-wad Tea-bagger with a narrow world view.

Haele

[Stonepounder]

6. The more interesting thing is that the DOJ is looking at him as well.

Not just ethics, but evidently there is a criminal investigation going on as well.

[herding cats]

7. A little backstory for those not aware.

Rep. Duncan Hunter repays campaign with loan brokered by long-ago murderer

Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Alpine, turned to a long-time acquaintance of his father and congressional predecessor, Duncan L. Hunter, to arrange the loan he used to repay his campaign for nearly $49,000 in questionable expenditures.

<>

Hunter, 40, used the money from the loan to repay $48,651 to his political campaign on Nov. 4, according to records on file with the Federal Election Commission. The money reimbursed the campaign for a long list of personal, mistaken, and inadequately-supported expenditures in 2015 and 2016, according to commission filings.

The reimbursements included payments to utility companies, a dentist, a nail salon, Albertsons, Costco, Walmart, Home Depot, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Trader Joe’s and Abercrombie & Fitch — as well as 32 airline transactions, a hotel in Italy and the Arizona Grand Resort, according to campaign reports.
http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/watchdog/sd-me-hunter-loan-20161214-story.html

I'm interested in how bad his infractions must be for a Republican to be being investigated by this DOJ.