California congressman reportedly spent $600 in campaign funds to fly the family rabbit

Click the gallery for the colleges that produce the most active members of Congress, according to StartClass. Click the gallery for the colleges that produce the most active members of Congress, according to StartClass. Photo: Associated Press Photo: Associated Press Image 1 of / 43 Caption Close California congressman reportedly spent $600 in campaign funds to fly the family rabbit 1 / 43 Back to Gallery

As recent questionable expenses paid by Rep. Duncan Hunter's campaign fund are now being clarified and defined, the California public is getting a closer look at the things the San Diego County Republican has been buying during his tenure.

One of the more "colorful" items reported thus far: $600 in "cabin rabbit transport fees." In other words, $600 was spent to fly the family's pet rabbit in an airplane, according to a report by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Hunter was under investigation in 2016 for $62,000 in personal campaign expenses not clearly documented, for which he reimbursed his campaign fund. The $600 spent on the family pet is merely a small portion of the previously unaccounted-for expenses.

Hunter's staff, however, maintains that the House's Office of Congressional Ethics overstepped during its investigation, and is not looking at the expenses in an appropriate context. As they told the Tribune, they believe such expenses like the rabbit air travel are being viewed by the OCE as potentially malicious.

"This was nothing more than an oversight. In fact, it's such an obvious example of a mistake being made but [the OCE] wants to view it through a lens of possible intent," said Hunter's spokesman Joe Kasper. "The same goes for many other expenditures. Many of Rep. Hunter's repayments had to do with mistakes under specific circumstances, and in other cases there were bona fide campaign activities connected to expenditures that [the OCE] was not aware of and didn't account for."

In the past, Hunter attributed improper use of campaign funds in part to the fact that two of his credit cards look similar.

The OCE's report has not yet been formally released, but in the meantime, Hunter did vote yes on gutting the independent office in a controversial political move earlier this week. According to the Union-Tribune, however, his staffers said he "didn't mind" when the plan was later pulled after criticism by President-elect Donald Trump.