Uh-oh! FBI raids office of Rep. Duncan Hunter’s treasurer
This appears to have nothing to do with anything Russiagate. On the other hand, another rising Republican star who was a huge shill for Donald Trump (see here and here) and was even considered for an executive branch position should probably text the fat lady…
FBI agents searched the office of Rep. Duncan Hunter’s campaign treasurer in February, seizing computer equipment and documents for their investigation into whether the Alpine Republican misused campaign funds.
The search warrant for Election CFO — the agency Hunter hired to ensure his campaign complied with campaign finance rules — reveals new information about the federal investigation into Hunter’s campaign spending.
The warrant, which was unsealed in March, said agents were looking for evidence showing whether Hunter’s campaign funds were used for personal reasons, whether there was a scheme to defraud a bank over video game purchases, and whether Hunter’s campaign finance reports were falsified to “impede or influence” FBI and House Ethics Committee inquiries into his use of campaign funds.
It was the more than $1,300 in video game purchases by Hunter’s campaign that first drew the attention of federal election officials and the San Diego Union-Tribune. Hunter blamed his son for the video game purchases, saying he had used the wrong credit card. Other unusual spending by Hunter’s campaign included a now-infamous airplane ride for the family rabbit and payments to nail salons, his children’s private school and a Phoenix resort.
In March, Hunter told Politico he did nothing wrong, but would not say who was responsible for the campaign expenses.
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The FBI warrant also sought communications between Hunter, his wife Margaret Hunter (who had acted as his campaign manager), chief of staff Joe Kasper, former chief of staff Victoria Middleton and former scheduler and office manager Caroline DeBeikes, as well as Election CFO founder Christopher Marston and sole employee Brenda Hankins.
Kasper and Marston did not immediately respond to requests for comment Wednesday morning after the unsealed warrant was discovered by Seamus Hughes of the George Washington University Program on Extremism and shared with The Times. Attorneys for Hunter and Marston also did not respond to requests for comment.
You can find the full warrant here.
Hunter already has challengers, and they smell blood in the water.
— Josh Butner (@JoshButnerCA50) August 9, 2017
We need to bring Integrity back to the 50th District. We cannot stand for this!https://t.co/usL4K30t2z
— Andrew Zelt (@zeltforcongress) August 9, 2017
