Duncan Duane Hunter (born December 7, 1976) is an American former politician, convicted felon and United States Marine who served as a U.S. representative for California's 50th congressional district from 2013 to 2020.

[4] Also in June 2019, federal prosecutors showed that from 2009 to 2016, Hunter had spent campaign funds on extramarital affairs with five women, including lobbyists and congressional staff.

[16][17] He graduated from Granite Hills High School in El Cajon, California, in 1994, and San Diego State University, where he earned a B.S.

[24] Hunter was working in a command center on April 12, 2004, that mistakenly approved the mortar launch onto a schoolhouse in Fallujah where U.S. troops had set up a temporary base.

Hunter stated he was a trainee at the time; he admitted that he plotted the coordinates of the target and marked it on the map, but said he was working under the supervision of another officer who made the final call.

He claimed that Campa-Najjar, who converted to Christianity from Islam in high school,[54] was an "Islamist" trying to "infiltrate Congress", describing him as a "security threat" with terrorist ties.

In July 2013, Hunter voted against an amendment offered by Justin Amash to rein in warrantless domestic surveillance conducted by the NSA.

[69] Hunter was an early supporter of Donald Trump's presidential bid, endorsing him in February 2016 in the earliest days of the Republican primary.

Hunter used the Marine iconography in a racially charged mailer attacking his Democratic opponent and two Muslim congresswomen, attempting to link them to terrorism.

[94] In October 2012, Hunter returned from a visit to Afghanistan, as part of a congressional delegation, with a more upbeat assessment, stating "Frankly I was very skeptical last year when I went last, and have been, on whether [the Afghans] can do this, but they are.

[99] Columnist Dan Murtaugh of the Press-Register suggested that Hunter's 2011 call to rebid the littoral combat ship program was an attempt to get federal funds for a shipyard in his district.

[107] In 2018, Hunter requested a review of the awarding of the Silver Star to Marine 1st Lieutenant Travis Manion, who was originally recommended for the Navy Cross.

[110] The congressman along with other lawmakers sought presidential help in the case of Chief Special Warfare Operator Eddie Gallagher who was to stand trial in a San Diego military court for similar offenses.

[111][112] Hunter wrote letters to both Obama and Trump, asking them to consider giving a presidential pardon or leniency to Lieutenant Clint Lorance, a platoon commander in Afghanistan, who was convicted of second degree murder for ordering his troops during a combat mission to fire on Afghans approaching on a motorcycle at high speed who turned out to be unarmed; Trump reviewed the case and pardoned Lorance.

[116] In May 2019, during an attempt to defend Gallagher at a town hall meeting,[117] Hunter claimed that he too had posed for photos with a dead enemy combatant while deployed, and called the military justice system "corrupt".

"[119] Hunter appeared in federal court in San Diego on November 25, 2019, for a hearing in his own case, and supported Trump's downward sentence modification for Gallagher.

[134] Press relations After a reporter from The Guardian was assaulted by Republican Representative Greg Gianforte from Montana,[135] Hunter's response was published in several newspapers.

In response to questions about the AHCA's effect on those with pre-existing conditions, Gianforte put his hands around the reporter's neck and "body-slammed" him to the ground, injuring his elbow and breaking his glasses.

[144] The expenses included $1,302 in charges for video games, $600 to pay for a family rabbit to travel by plane, clothing from Abercrombie & Fitch,[143] a donation to their son's school, payments to an oral and maxillofacial surgeon, travel costs (including 32 payments for airfare, hotel stays in Arizona and Italy),[143] groceries, a nail salon visit, tuition, non-specified items at a surf shop,[145] and outdoor equipment.

[147] In April 2017, Hunter returned from international travel in order to address issues around his campaign funds, promising to correct any inappropriate or mistaken charges.

[150] Personal expenses charged to the campaign included vacations in Italy and Hawaii, theater tickets,[151] and purchases in the gaming platform Steam.

[152] The indictment says that when Hunter wanted to buy some shorts for himself, his wife suggested that he falsely report the purchase as "golf balls for wounded warriors".

[162] Hunter himself insisted that he never used campaign funds for personal expenses and that the indictment was a "witch hunt" carried out by "partisan Democrat prosecutors" and the "deep state".

"[165] On June 24, 2019, federal prosecutors submitted a court filing alleging that Hunter used his campaign funds for extramarital affairs with five women, including three lobbyists, a congressional aide, and one of his staffers [166] between 2009 and 2016.

[5][167] Ahead of a court hearing in November 2019, Hunter expressed support for President Donald Trump's downward sentence modification for convicted war criminal Eddie Gallagher, but refused to answer reporters' questions about his case.

[169][170] Whelan rejected Hunter's request to serve most or all of his sentence on home confinement, given the long duration of his criminal conduct and the amount of money misappropriated.

[179] The following month, in February 2020, Barron's published an investigative report, based on leaks of confidential documents, that implicated Hunter as a key figure in the prosecution of Greek Orthodox priest and hedge fund manager Emmanuel Lemelson.

[183][184] However, on December 22, 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned Hunter, as well as Chris Collins of New York, another Republican congressman convicted of corruption, and commuted the sentence of Steve Stockman of Texas.

[188] In 2016, Hunter sold his home in Alpine, California, and used part of the proceeds to repay his political campaign for some of the money he had spent on personal expenses.

[189][149][188] In August 2020, Margaret Hunter pleaded guilty to misusing campaign funds for personal use and was sentenced to eight months of home confinement and three years of probation.