Congressman, wife plead not guilty to illegal spending

U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter was swarmed by demonstrators yelling “shame on you!” as he left a federal courthouse Thursday in San Diego after pleading not guilty to charges of illegally using his campaign account for personal expenses.

The California Republican and his wife, Margaret, entered their pleas in federal court, where prosecutors said bond could be set low because the couple is living paycheck to paycheck. The judge agreed to set bail at $15,000 for the congressman and at $10,000 for his wife.

A 60-count indictment unsealed Tuesday charges the couple used more than $250,000 to finance family trips to Italy and Hawaii, golf outings, school tuition, theater tickets and even fast food purchases, and then attempted to conceal the illegal spending in federal records.

Even as the five-term incumbent was under investigation by the FBI, Hunter easily won a 30-point victory in a June primary and established himself as a strong favorite to hold onto his strongly Republican 50th Congressional District seat in San Diego and Riverside counties, which his father held for many years.

Sandy Huffaker / Getty Image Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-Calif., walks into the federal courthouse for an arraignment hearing on Wednesday in San Diego, Calif. Hunter and his wife, Margaret, are accused of using more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal use.