22 Aug. 2018                                                                                                                                                                                       (Huff Post-Yahoo News)

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and his wife, Margaret Hunter, were indicted Tuesday on charges of improperly using campaign funds for private use.

A grand jury in San Diego indicted the Hunters on charges of filing false campaign finance records,  saying the couple misused more than $250,000 after a two-year investigation. The Justice Department said the pair used political money to pay for their children’s tuition and spent thousands of dollars at shopping malls, Washington restaurants and surf shops, among other expenditures.

The indictment includes details accusing the Hunters of making efforts to hide their personal expenses, including labeling fees for dental work as a donation to a charity called “Smiles for Life” and tickets to see Riverdance as a fundraising event for “Republican women.”

Hunter, 41, is a five-term congressman representing San Diego County who served for three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as a Marine. His family has been a household name in California politics for decades, and his father, also named Duncan Hunter, served in the U.S. House for nearly 30 years until handing the reins to his son.

Hunter had blamed his wife, who acted as a campaign manager, for many of the improper charges, saying she controlled the campaign’s credit card, and in February he feigned ignorance in an interview with Politico, saying: “Nah, I know the rules.”