The criminal investigation into Rep. Duncan Hunter is intensifying as a grand jury in San Diego questions multiple former aides about whether the California Republican improperly diverted political funds for personal use.

Federal prosecutors have subpoenaed Hunter’s parents, as well as a female lobbyist with whom many people close to the congressman believe he had a romantic relationship, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the investigation.


The Justice Department is trying to determine whether hundreds of thousands of dollars from Hunter’s campaign account were spent improperly on his family and friends. Hunter already sold his home to pay back what even he now acknowledges were improper charges, moving his wife and kids in with his parents while he mostly lives in his Capitol Hill office.

It’s a stark reversal of fortune for Hunter, 41, whose friends once considered him a hero. The ex-Marine served three tours as an artillery officer in Afghanistan and Iraq, fighting in some of the bloodiest battles in Fallujah.

Now, the five-term lawmaker’s Republican colleagues worry that he’s on the brink of personal and political ruin. Some Republicans are urging GOP leaders to force him to retire, worried that his troubles could cost the party another seat in its uphill effort to maintain the House majority.

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This account is based on more than a dozen interviews with lawmakers, congressional aides, former staffers to Hunter and other sources close to the investigation of the congressman. It sheds new light on the yearlong federal investigation into Hunter, including areas of inquiry by federal prosecutors, as well as the series of events that led to Hunter's predicament.

The Hunter family has been a powerhouse in San Diego politics for nearly four decades. Hunter’s father, Duncan L. Hunter or Duncan Hunter Sr., served in Congress from 1981 to 2008 before helping his son succeed him. The pair have been leading champions for the military — the father was chairman of the House Armed Services Committee and the son later became a member of the panel.

Three people with knowledge of the probe told POLITICO that Hunter's wife, Margaret, who acted as his campaign manager, is at the center of the FBI inquiry. Many of the alleged campaign charges in question — including tuition payments for their children’s schooling and dozens of restaurant meals where no donor appeared to be present — were made by Margaret Hunter, those people said.

But Hunter is also under intense scrutiny by the FBI and federal prosecutors. Federal agents have questioned his former staffers about whether thousands of dollars spent at Washington restaurants were legitimate campaign expenditures. They’ve also inquired about his relationships with several women in Washington, including one who worked in his office.

“He’s enjoyed his time in Washington — probably a little too much,” said one House Republican lawmaker who has known Hunter for years but wants him to retire in order to protect the seat. “His wife supposedly had the campaign credit card, but that’s not an excuse. You can’t just blame your wife.”

In an interview Monday, Hunter denied ever knowingly using campaign funds for personal expense.

“Nah, I know the rules,” he said. “And if I did, it was an accident and I paid it back.”

Hunter would not answer questions about whether Margaret Hunter used the campaign card for personal expenses or ever asked him if she could. Hunter did suggest POLITICO look at where the charges occurred, suggesting those that raised red flags were made in California while he was in Washington: “You can see where I was during the transactions ... and you can draw your conclusion.”

Hunter also said he never compiled or signed his campaign’s Federal Election Commission reports. He said his wife, who ran his political committee, knew the rules on campaign disbursements.

“My wife, she ran my dad’s FEC [reports] and his campaign prior to us getting married … so I assumed — not assumed, she knew the rules. She knows the FEC rules ... as much as anybody who does that stuff,” Hunter said.

Hunter initially declined to answer questions about alleged romantic relationships with two women about whom the FBI has inquired. But the following day, Hunter called such questions “tabloid trash.” When asked if that was a denial that he was involved with the women, he responded: “No, it’s tabloid trash.”

“I’m worried about this story that’s just going to talk shit about me for fun. ... Trying to expose me and my personal life or something,” Hunter told POLITICO on Tuesday. “I don’t know how it ties into the other [FBI] stuff.”

In interviews with lawmakers and congressional aides who have closely associated with Hunter, a picture emerges of a promising young lawmaker who appears to have lost his way. Hunter has developed a reputation on Capitol Hill for drinking heavily and carousing, according to multiple lawmakers and staffers who have witnessed his behavior over the past several years.

Former staffers to Hunter said he and his lawmaker friends — dubbed the "bros caucus” by his aides — would regularly go to the Capitol Hill Club, a Republican hangout, to drink beer, sometimes during the day. Congressional aides have recounted to POLITICO at least two stories of recent official meetings where lawmakers questioned whether Hunter was intoxicated.

In one December huddle between Republicans on the Armed Services Committee and GOP leaders, Hunter raised his voice at Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), accusing the Republican leader of undercutting the military with an irresponsible funding strategy. According to people who were present or heard about it afterward, members noticed his bloodshot eyes and speech and questioned whether Hunter was under the influence.

One Republican lawmaker said in an interview that he spoke to Hunter about his drinking habits and urged him to get evaluated for post-traumatic stress disorder. Former aides to Hunter said other lawmakers approached Hunter on the same grounds.

Hunter denied in the interview ever attending a meeting in Congress when he was under the influence.

While Hunter was in Washington, Margaret Hunter was in San Diego taking care of their three children. She allegedly grew reckless in using the campaign credit card for personal use, according to sources familiar with the workings of the Hunter campaign. The Hunters’ most recent financial disclosure report, from May, lists no assets and between $60,000 and $115,000 of debt.

Margaret Hunter’s trips to shopping malls, surf shops and fast food restaurants are among the transactions the FBI is examining, according to sources close to the investigation. The Hunters repaid the campaign more than $60,000 in improper campaign charges, but federal prosecutors are interested in tens of thousands of additional charges, according to several sources and a report in the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Hunter has run up huge legal bills as he tries to avoid a criminal indictment. FEC records show his campaign paid more than $535,000 last year to at least a half-dozen law firms to represent him and his staff in both Washington and California. Lawmakers are allowed to use campaign contributions to cover legal expenses.

The negative publicity surrounding the criminal investigation also has had an effect on Hunter's fundraising. In the last quarter of 2017, Hunter spent nearly $179,000 on legal fees, while raising less than a third of that total, roughly $51,000.

If Republican leaders are going to press Hunter to step down, they need to do it soon. California’s filing deadline is March 9. Hunter’s district is solidly Republican, but his legal troubles could make the race competitive in a Democratic wave election.

“There are some people who want” Hunter gone, said one senior Republican lawmaker. “That’s a fact. ... People don’t want to see any more baggage.”

But not all Republicans feel that way. Hunter has a group of loyal friends who call him a good man and say he’s struggled with his experiences in war zones.

“He’s one of my best friends inside and outside of Congress,” Rep. Tom Rooney (R-Fla.) said. “Hopefully that [investigation is] all cleared up. I know he’s made mistakes and attempted to rectify those mistakes.”

Hunter Sr. went further, declaring in an interview that his son is not guilty. He called the congressman a “highly moral person of great character,” touted his legislative achievements and predicted that “he’s going to be president someday.”

“The story here should be: A year has gone by, almost a year since the investigators have had every single one of his records. A year! And there’ve been no charges. … And the reason for that is he’s totally clean on this,” said Hunter Sr., who’s been living in Texas part time while Hunter’s family stays in his parents' California home.

Hunter Sr., however, would not say the same of his daughter in-law when asked if he were certain of her innocence.

“I’m not going to talk about my family,” he said.

Hunter was 4 years old when his father was elected to Congress. After growing up in Washington, D.C., he moved to California to earn a business administration degree from San Diego State University. He later founded a web design firm and worked in information technology.

After the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, Hunter joined the Marines. He deployed to Iraq and later Afghanistan and faced frequent ambushes serving on the front lines, according to people he has spoken with about his time overseas. Sources close to Hunter said his war experiences still haunt him.

When Hunter’s father decided to retire in 2008, he helped his son win his seat. Hunter was still in the Marine Corps Reserves at the time, so his wife and his father shepherded the campaign.

Hunter’s personal problems in Washington started early. While Hunter Sr. rarely drank and was careful never to be seen alone with another woman, Hunter was more carefree, said sources close to him.

At one point, then-Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned Hunter and his friends to cut it out and stay away from female lobbyists they’d frequently dine with at night. Hunter's father also called staff and members to check in on his son, said sources who know both men. (Hunter Sr. disputed this account, saying he’s never worried about his son’s drinking habits.)

The drama only increased when Hunter’s longtime chief of staff, Vicki Middleton, left the office in late 2014. Middleton, a “second mother” to Hunter in the words of one former aide, had worked for his father for years. And Hunter’s staff said he mostly behaved well in her presence.

Around that time, Hunter hired a young woman whom investigators have inquired about during their probe, sources familiar with the questioning said. Hunter promoted her from intern to full-time, a decision that perplexed staffers who said she frequently failed to show up for work and was hostile to co-workers.

POLITICO is not naming the woman because multiple attempts to reach her for comment were unsuccessful.

Former staffers to Hunter said the atmosphere grew toxic because of the woman, who would text with Hunter and sometimes accompany him to the Capitol Hill Club. Multiple aides complained about her attire, saying it was inappropriate for a work environment. Two aides kept a tally of how many days of work she had missed. The woman would also show up uninvited at Hunter’s campaign events, including one in San Diego.

Despite mounting concerns within his office, however, Hunter refused to fire her. The nature of the relationship caused some of his staffers to question Hunter’s judgment.

At the same time, on the other side of the country, Margaret Hunter started using the campaign credit card liberally, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation. In the spring of 2016, Hunter's staffers began to take a closer look at their campaign finances after a series of news reports about questionable charges, such as $1,300 in video game charges that appeared on Hunter's FEC report.

Multiple stories by California newspapers would later detail money spent on oral surgery, jewelry from Italy and, most memorably, $600 to fly a pet rabbit across the country. After further scrutiny, Hunter aides realized that was only the beginning.

Hunter in early 2016 brought in an outside law firm to do an independent audit going back to the date that Margaret Hunter received her campaign credit card. Hunter was expecting that the audit would turn up $20,000 in campaign expenses he would have to repay and was shocked when the firm found more than $60,000, according to one former aide. He told close associates it was his wife’s fault.

The FBI started inquiring about campaign transactions going back more than five years. Part of the investigation centers on possible falsification of FEC reports, including whether information was intentionally entered incorrectly to cover up purchases. Law enforcement is also looking at credit card fraud, since the campaign disputed the video game charges with the credit card company; investigators want to verify that the charges were indeed made in error.

Sources with knowledge of the investigation said Margaret Hunter didn’t keep many receipts because FEC reports don’t require that practice. So prosecutors have attempted to obtain the records from businesses, as first reported by the Union-Tribune.

Also under the microscope are campaign funds spent at myriad trips to grocery stores, shopping malls and stores like Pier 1 and Barnes & Noble. Investigators are trying to verify that money was actually used on campaign items. Also under scrutiny are numerous charges at fast food restaurants.

Law enforcement officials have also asked whether Hunter tried to configure his internal audit so that he could afford the amount he would have to pay back, according to a person with knowledge of the investigation.

In the interview, Hunter said the FBI has “never contacted me” or “let me know anything” about the investigation. Asked whether investigators had contacted or interviewed his wife, he said “I don’t know” and would not answer whether he believed she made illicit charges with campaign funds.

Hunter did defend his own actions, however. He argued that thousands of dollars he spent at the Capitol Hill Club on food and drink — now under scrutiny by investigators — were justified.

“Any time you walk in [to the Capitol Hill Club], it’s work,” he said. “That’s why we go there.”

As for suggestions from colleagues that he should retire from Congress, Hunter said he’s not going anywhere.

“Politics,” he said, “is ruthless.”