Accusations of getaway weekends with secret lovers, embezzled money, and not-so-subtle winks at the idea of stealthy sex in the shadow of the U.S. Capitol. For sheer potboiler fun and delightful tawdriness, it’s hard to beat the latest court documents filed against Republican Congressman Duncan Hunter.
Unwrapped this week like an overripe California roll, the reeking new accusations are being piled on the already steaming case against Hunter and his wife for allegedly embezzling campaign funds to support their lavish lifestyle. She’s now cooperating with prosecutors. He’s still denying any wrongdoing — saying this is the work of politically motivated prosecutors. But boy howdy, does the evidence seem extensive.
In short, the new filings claim the arch-conservative lawmaker from California had — count ’em — five affairs with five women, none of them being Mrs. Hunter, and all the trysts partially funded with campaign cash.
For example, the papers say he took a trip to a place called (I kid you not) Heavenly Mountain Resort, where he and a female lobbyist “spent the weekend skiing, ordering room service, and enjoying the amenities.” Then, prosecutors say, Hunter used his campaign credit card to cover the $1,008 tab.
The state claims he took the same woman on a double date to Virginia Beach, where he dropped about $900; to a concert, where “Hunter spent $121 … on beer, nachos and wings”; and on a golf outing with “greens fees for two, 10 beers, an Adidas shirt and a visor.” And it was all paid for, prosecutors contend, with campaign money.
Furthermore, they say campaign money was used for dinners, cocktails and Uber rides connected to a woman who worked for Republican Congressional leadership; another woman from his office, of whom the papers say “the two occasionally spent nights together”; and another lobbyist … and another.
Like I said, Hunter disputes it all, and he’ll get a chance to disprove those claims if his case goes to trial this fall as expected. But until then, if you’re looking for a hot summer read, the sordid tale of the allegedly wayward congressman is a scorcher.
