Rep. Duncan Hunter Stripped Of Voting Power Following Guilty Plea

The House Ethics Committee has told Rep. Duncan Hunter not to participate in any more votes in the House of Representatives because he violated the official code of conduct by using hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign funds for personal expenses.

Hunter, R-Calif., pleaded guilty in a federal court in San Diego earlier this week to siphoning money from his campaign fund. Prosecutors had alleged that Hunter and his wife, who pleaded guilty earlier this year, spent as much as $250,000 in campaign funds on expenses such as video games, dental work, movie tickets and fast food.

The letter from the House Ethics Committee informs Hunter the provision advising him to no longer vote is "not mandatory, we emphasize in the strongest possible terms that if you violate the clear principles of this provision -- that is, for example, by voting in the House -- you risk subjecting yourself to action by this committee, and by the House, in addition to any other disciplinary action that may be initiated in connection with your criminal conviction."

The congressman faces up to five years in prison, and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 17.

Hunter decided he would plead guilty this week after months of denying wrongdoing.

"I think it's important not to have a public trial for three reasons, and those three reasons are my kids," Hunter told California television station KUSI, citing the toll a trial would take on his family. "It's hard enough being the kids of a public figure. I think it's time for them to live life outside the spotlight. But it's been a privilege to serve in Congress for 11 years."

Former Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., who served with Duncan in the California congressional delegation, has raised the idea of a commutation from President Trump.

“It’s not my decision. It’s the president’s decision,” Issa said this week. “But I would certainly say the commuting of sentencing … has a certain ability to balance the public good. Are we better off spending $60,000 a year to put him behind bars or are we better off with him doing community service and going on with his life with the likelihood of him committing a crime in the future being pretty low?”