Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) confirmed Monday he will plead guilty on campaign finance violations charges on Tuesday after months of saying he is innocent.
“My trial was set for January 22; thats not going to happen now. On tomorrow, on Tuesday, Im going to change my plea to guilty. I think its important not to have a public trial for three reasons, and those three reasons are my kids,” Hunter told KUSI News.
Hunter said he would only plead guilty to one of the charges.
He said that a trial would “be really tough for them,” adding that it is “hard enough being the kids of a public figure.”
“I think its time for them to live life outside the spotlight. But its been a privilege to serve in Congress for 11 years, three tours in the Marine Corps and the wars. So I think weve done a lot of great things for the nation,” Hunter told the news outlet.
U.S. Attorney Phillip Halpern told CNN that Hunter is no longer pleading not guilty.
“The court calendar shows that Duncan Hunter will go before a judge and change his not guilty plea in this case,” Halpern said.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Hunters wife, Margaret, his campaign treasurer, pleaded guilty to her role in a scheme that saw the two allegedly spend more than $200,000 in donations on family expenses like vacations, gas, groceries, school lunches, and oral surgery.
The Hunters were indicted in August 2018 on charges of misusing funds for personal expenses.
Following the indictment, the congressman was removed from his House committee assignments. Hunter, who was first elected in 2008, managed to win his reelection bid during the 2018 midterms amid the campaign finance allegations.
