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Duncan Hunter Threw His Wife To The Wolves After They Were Indicted But Now He’s Telling A Reporter ‘Leave My Wife Out Of It’

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Vandana Rambaran Political Reporter
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California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter, who just blamed his wife Thursday for campaign spending that landed the couple an indictment for misusing campaign funds, is now asking everyone to “leave my wife out of it.”

“Leave my wife out of it. Leave my family out of it,” he said in an interview with 10News, an ABC affiliate in San Diego. “It’s me they’re after anyway. They’re not after my wife. They want to take me down. That’s what they’re up to.”

His comments come just days after Hunter shifted blame to his wife for allegedly using $250,000 in campaign funds to splurge on vacations to Hawaii and abroad and purchase personal items for himself, according to statements made in an interview with Fox News on Thursday. (RELATED: Rep. Duncan Hunter Indicted For Allegedly Misusing $250K In Campaign Funds)

“When I went away to Iraq in 2003, the first time, I gave her power of attorney. She handled my finances throughout my entire military career and that continued on when I got into Congress,” Hunter said. “She was also the campaign manager, so whatever she did, that’ll be looked at, too, I’m sure, but I didn’t do it.”

Hunter and his wife pleaded not guilty to allegations that they dipped into campaign coffers to fund family vacations to Italy, Hawaii, Phoenix, Arizona and Boise, Idaho, as well as school tuition, dental bills, theater tickets and domestic and international travel for almost a dozen relatives, charges outlined in the Department of Justice’s indictment, handed down by a federal grand jury Aug. 21.

Hunter’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment in time for press.

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