Hunter Indicted
Duncan Hunter, the vaping congressman, has been indicted on charges of misusing campaign funds.
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by Dave Cross
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The politician introduced Bill H.R. 2194 to the House of Representatives, becoming known simply as ‘The Hunter Bill’. It aimed to shift the focus on vaping away from prohibitionist-style nanny state measures and place regulation on an evidence-based footing.
“The reason I vape is simple: It’s so I don’t smoke cigarettes,” Hunter has said. “I vape knowing that I’m not inhaling tobacco. Most importantly, I vape because I believe it could save my life. There are millions of Americans like me, who are choosing e-cigarettes over their traditional counterpart.”
In 2016, it was claimed he was the victim of a smear campaign. Allegations were listed on the Death and Taxes site, but all reference to this has since been removed. They included accusations of impropriety, misusing money and poured scorn on his rebuttals.
“Hunter better be careful,” wrote Death and Taxes. “He’s playing around with some dangerous folk. What do we know about Hunter? He vapes. A lot. He even vapes in congress. And what do we know about vaping? It’s scientifically proven to explode your face off. He won’t be of much use to the vaping industry if he can’t fight FDA regulations because he’s missing his lower jaw.”
This has been thrown up in the air following the revelations over the last 24 hours.
Hunter and his wife stand accused of misappropriating $250,000 to pay for things such as a family European holiday, school lunches, luggage sets, wine and golf.
The politician is a Marine Corps veteran who toured two conflicts in the Middle East. People are amazed that some of the allegations include him and his wife covering up their purchases under the guise of helping military and other charities:
- $200 tennis shoes claimed as being for wounded warriors event
- A Hawaii shorts purchase claimed as golf balls for wounded warriors
- A makeup purchase claimed as a gift basket for the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Diego
- Dental bills claimed as donations to the Smiles For Life charity
- Requesting a tour of a naval base in Italy to justify the holiday, which, when refused, Hunter said: “Tell the Navy to go **** themselves.”
The list continues and maps out a sad and sorry tale of fast food, $1,500’s-worth of computer games, theatre tickets – and a $600 fee to fly the family’s pet rabbit.
The House Ethics panel was already investigating campaign fund misuse by Hunter but had been placed on hold in May at the request of the Justice Department, pending this action in court.
The Hunter Bill is now in jeopardy as a clamour begins with demands for his immediate resignation. Despite Hunter pleading his innocence, the events will cause support for the bill to ebb and builds uncertainty over the future of vape legislation in the United States.
Dave Cross
Journalist at POTVDave is a freelance writer; with articles on music, motorbikes, football, pop-science, vaping and tobacco harm reduction in Sounds, Melody Maker, UBG, AWoL, Bike, When Saturday Comes, Vape News Magazine, and syndicated across the Johnston Press group. He was published in an anthology of “Greatest Football Writing”, but still believes this was a mistake. Dave contributes sketches to comedy shows and used to co-host a radio sketch show. He’s worked with numerous vape companies to develop content for their websites.
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