Former Rep. Duncan Hunter sentenced to 11 months in prison

Former Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) was sentenced to 11 months in federal prison and three years probation on Tuesday after he pleaded guilty to charges of campaign finance violations late last year.

While the prosecution pushed for a 14-month prison sentence, Hunter’s defense team argued for 11 months of home confinement, citing his military and public service, NBC reported.

Hunter — who stepped down from his seat in January — faced up to five years in prison after he and his wife, Margaret, were charged with misspending more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use.

Both Hunter and his wife initially pleaded not guilty, with the former congressman having alleged he was the victim of political persecution by “partisan Democrat prosecutors” despite the fact that the prosecution was handled by the office of U.S. Attorney Adam Braverman, a Trump appointee. Hunter opted to plead guilty to one of the 60 counts against him months after his wife reversed course and changed her own plea.

The disgraced ex-lawmaker, his wife and his former campaign treasurer were indicted in August 2018 on charges of illegally using campaign funds to purchase trips to Europe and Hawaii, pay for family dental work, fund his children’s school tuition and to fly the family’s pet rabbit across the country.

The campaign funds were also used to purchase “fast food, movie tickets, golf outings, video games, coffee, groceries, home utilities, and expensive meals,” according to the Justice Department.

Following the initial indictment, additional allegations surfaced that Hunter used campaign funds during the course of five different extramarital affairs with congressional staffers and lobbyists.

According to the Department of Justice, the lawmaker also falsified campaign records filed to the Federal Election Commission in an attempt to cover up the purchases by mischaracterizing the expenses as “‘campaign travel,’ ‘dinner with volunteers/contributors,’ ‘toy drives,’ ‘teacher/parent and supporter events,’ ‘gift cards’ for charitable donations, and ‘gift basket items,’ among other false descriptions.”

Following his indictment, House leadership opted to remove Hunter from his committee assignments, and he was informed after pleading guilty that he would no longer be able to vote on the House floor.