The Justice Department is investigating Rep. Duncan Hunter on allegations that he used tens of thousands of campaign dollars for personal use, the House Ethics Committee announced Thursday.
“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,” according to an Office of Congressional Ethics report that the Ethics Committee also released Thursday.
Hunter, one of President Donald Trump’s earliest supporters in Congress, agreed to repay about $60,000 to his own campaign account last November, according to Hunter’s lawyers.
“Last year, Congressman Hunter became aware of expenditure issues confronting his campaign committee. Out of an abundance of caution, he took corrective action in consultation with the FEC and, ultimately, he and his wife personally repaid the campaign approximately $60,000,” Elliot Berke and Gregory Verga, Hunter’s attorneys, said in a statement to CNN.
“Congressman Hunter intends to cooperate fully with the government on this investigation, and maintains that to the extent any mistakes were made they were strictly inadvertent and unintentional,” the lawyers said.
The Department of Justice declined CNN’s request for comment Thursday.