With his criminal trial less than three months away, Rep. Duncan Hunter is adding a fifth attorney to his legal defense team.

The lawyer said prosecutors are opposing the addition, alleging a conflict of interest.

Hunter, R-Alpine, notified the U.S. District Court in San Diego on Monday that San Diego-based attorney Paul J. Pfingst would be appearing in criminal proceedings on his behalf.

Hunter is scheduled to begin trial Jan. 22 on a 60-count indictment accusing him and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret Hunter, of fraud, conspiracy and other crimes stemming from their alleged use of more than $250,000 in campaign money to pay for personal expenses such as video games , dental work, their children’s private school tuition, a family vacation to Italy and more.


The couple pleaded not guilty when they were arraigned in August 2018.

Margaret Hunter reached a deal with prosecutors and changed her plea in June to guilty to one count of conspiracy. As part of the plea deal, she agreed to cooperate with the prosecution and testify against her husband.

Duncan Hunter continues to fight the charges ahead of the March 3 primary election.

Pfingst, a former District Attorney for San Diego County, is known for his skill and decades of experience representing clients in complex litigation, white-collar crime, and other matters in state and federal courts. He is a partner at Higgs Fletcher & Mack in San Diego.


Pfingst told The San Diego Union-Tribune during a phone call Tuesday that he is joining Hunter’s team to help try the case in court. He said he brings with him not just his experience prosecuting and defending clients at trial, but also his background as a candidate running for public office in San Diego County.

He said his time on the campaign trail could help him give a jury important perspective on some of Hunter’s campaign spending and financial reporting.

“I have a bit of a unique background in talking about why certain expenditures would be relevant to a campaign,” Pfingst said.

Pfingst said prosecutors have challenged his association with Hunter’s defense team based on an alleged conflict of interest because another lawyer in his firm represented three witnesses in Hunter’s case during grand jury proceedings.


Pfingst did not name the witnesses nor the attorney who represented them.

Hunter and the witnesses have all signed broad waivers giving up rights, including an appeal based on conflict of interest, Pfingst said.

“The witnesses have no problem with it,” he said. “They’ve signed waivers, my client has signed waivers, so I’m not so sure why the government is so concerned about me being on the case.”

Pfingst said prosecutors would have to convince a judge to remove him from the case.


A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office did not respond to a request for comment Tuesday morning.

Financial disclosures Hunter’s campaign filed with the Federal Election Commission show it paid Higgs Fletcher & Mack $20,000 for legal services in 2017. It has not reported any other payments to the firm.

Federal election laws allow campaigns to pay for lawyers to represent people involved with a campaign in criminal cases and other legal proceedings involving allegations concerning the candidate’s campaign activities or duties as an officeholder.

Together Hunter’s campaign and legal expense fund have reported spending more than $800,000 for legal fees since June 2016.


The other four lawyers representing Hunter in his criminal defense are former U.S. Attorney Gregory A. Vega and two other attorneys from his law firm, and appellate lawyer Devin Burnstein.