Blames charges on his son, followed by ‘unauthorized’ charges
San Diego-adjacent congressman Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) is dealing with inquiry by the Federal Election Commission, “for his use of campaign funds to pay for video games on 68 separate occasions,” according to the San Diego Union Tribune.
Hunter is throwing his son under the bus for the $1,302 of Steam charges between October 13 and December 16 of 2015. His campaign finance disclosure lists the charges with a memo, “personal expense — to be paid back,” but nothing was paid back.
Hunter’s spokesman Joe Kasper alleges the son used his pop’s credit card for one game, “and then several unauthorized charges resulted after the father tried to close access to the website.” I’m not sure how “several” charges turned into $1,302, but I appreciate the handler’s “unauthorized charges resulted” bit of obfuscation, kind of like how a weapon was discharged in the direction of my neighbor’s dumb ass house. And it’s better than the teen who dropped $8,000 on FIFA.
Because the charges were “unauthorized,” Kasper says Hunter is trying to get his money back first (from Steam, I guess?), which is why the campaign account hasn’t been repaid. The House Ethics Committee website reads, “Campaign funds are to be used for bona fide campaign or political purposes only. Campaign funds are not to be used to enhance a member’s lifestyle, or to pay a member’s personal obligations…Members have no discretion whatsoever to convert campaign funds to personal use.”
If I’ve buried the vape lead, Hunter was in the news earlier this year for smoking a vape pen in the middle of a congressional hearing. Though Hunter has received $31,500 since 2010 from big tobacco companies getting into the vape game, Kasper told Gawker that, “Before anyone decided to support him, he vaped and was passionate about the issue” and that those donations have zero impact on his very public displays of vapery.
FEC questions Duncan Hunter’s video game charges [San Diego Union Tribune]
