Former California Congressman Duncan Hunter was sentenced to 11 months in prison after he pleaded guilty on campaign finance violations.
Hunter, a Republican, will also receive three years of parole on the corruption charges that stemmed from misusing more than $200,000 in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.
Last year, he pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to misuse campaign funds before resigning weeks later.
During a court hearing on Tuesday, Hunter said he is taking “full responsibility for any dime that was spent by me or anyone else on my campaign,” CNN reported.
Federal Election Commission finance rules bar officials from spending campaign funds for personal use.
In an interview with KUSI News last year, Hunter said, “I think its important that people know that I did make mistakes. I did not properly monitor or account for my campaign money. I justify my plea with the understanding that I am responsible for my own campaign and my own campaign money.”
Hunter, 43, faced a maximum of five years in prison, although prosecutors asked the judge to give him a lighter sentence because of his plea deal in December.
“As we now know, Hunter lied to the people about his guilt. Not once, but countless times. In doing so, he conned voters into electing a soon-to-be-convict,” prosecutors wrote in arguing in favor of prison time, reported The Associated Press. “Our very democracy is at risk when a criminal like Hunter weaponize the tropes of fake news and conspiracy theories,” they also argued.Read More – Source
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