Three days after Rep. Duncan Hunter pleaded guilty to a federal felony related to a yearslong campaign finance scandal, he cleared up some confusion on Friday about whether he will step down from his congressional seat before the end of his term.

“Shortly after the holidays I will resign from Congress,” Hunter in a statement. “It has been an honor to serve the people of California’s 50th District, and I greatly appreciate the trust they have put in me over these last 11 years.”

Hunter’s statement comes a day after the House Ethics Committee threatened disciplinary action against Hunter if he continued to violate House rules and cast votes.

The House does not allow votes by members facing a prison sentence of more than two years. Hunter’s office said Friday that he will abide by the direction of party leadership to honor the committee’s advice that he not vote.


Hunter was indicted in August 2018 on 60 federal charges that he stole $250,000 of campaign money and used it for family vacations, groceries, extramarital affairs and other non-campaign uses. This week he pleaded guilty to a single count of conspiracy to convert campaign funds to personal use. He is to be sentenced March 17.

Since his indictment, Hunter has been unable to serve on committees, which is where much of the work of Congress is done.

Reaction to Hunter’s latest announcement has been mixed.

Sandy and Steve Allison, two longtime East County residents who voted for Hunter in the past, said they had been disappointed in Hunter’s conduct and resigning is the right thing to do.


“I’m sad for his kids, but I think he’s doing the right thing to resign at this point,” Steve Allison said.

“I’m glad he is doing it now,” Sandy Allison said. “It’s unfortunate he denied, denied, denied... but I’m glad he made the decision now and is not leaving us in limbo.”

Others criticized Hunter for not immediately resigning. Noah Bookbinder, executive director of the left-leaning advocacy group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said someone who has egregiously abused his office has no place in Congress.

“Hunter tarnishes Congress every day he remains in office,” Bookbinder said in a statement. “If he truly wished to do the right thing, he would step down now.”


Barry Jantz, a former La Mesa City Councilman and Republican politico, said that while Hunter’s guilty plea cleared some things up, the timing of the resignation contributes to overall confusion. He said Hunter should have made a clean break.

“To not just immediately do it, that didn’t make sense to me,” Jantz said. “It would remove any confusion for those making decisions about what comes next, removes confusion for those vying for the seat, and most importantly removes confusion for citizens of the district. Once he pleaded guilty, the fair thing to do is to make it very clear, ‘here is what is going to take place.’”

Even now, it’s not clear when Hunter’s final day in office will be, and his office declined to say when contacted after the statement went out.

Two candidates running for Hunter’s congressional seat, Ammar Campa-Najjar and Carl DeMaio, also criticized the congressman for delaying his resignation.


Campa-Najjar, the lone Democrat in the race, said the failure to offer a specific date is classic Hunter.

“He lets you down, shows you hope, then he lets you down again,” Campa-Najjar said. “For two years, he wouldn’t take responsibility. Then when he does, he backslides into the same habit of putting his own interests first.”

DeMaio said pushing the resignation back increases the likelihood that the seat will go without a representative until after the November 2020 election — rather than being filled sooner by special election.

“Duncan Hunter says he wants to take responsibility for his actions, and we’re pleased he’s come to that conclusion,” DeMaio said. “But taking responsibility means stepping down so we can move forward expeditiously with a special election. To deprive the voters of that opportunity indicates to me that he’s not taking responsibility.”


Hunter spokesman Michael Harrison said that Hunter discussed both the matter of his resignation and the ethics committee warning with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Bakersfield.

“He spoke with Leader McCarthy about his resignation and the ethics committee’s preferences and he is following the leader’s direction by both announcing his resignation after the holidays and adhering to the ethics committee’s request,” Harrison said.

Harrison said Hunter’s office is going to continue to work on constituent casework and that the congressman himself has a few items he is hoping to wrap up particularly with the Justice for Warriors Caucus, which advocates for service members caught up in the military justice system with war crimes allegations.

Hunter’s district includes much of East County as well as the North County communities of Fallbrook, San Marcos, Valley Center and Escondido. He lives in Alpine.