Congressman Questioned On Campaign Funds Used To Fly Family Rabbit

Depending on how you feel about the comfort level of rabbits deciding to travel by airplane, you will either love or hate this story.

The San Diego Union-Tribune reports Representative Duncan Hunter (R-Alpine) is being taken to task for a multitude of questionable charges purportedly expensed with campaign funds. 

The report has a trove of dubious charges that have led to the lawmaker paying back a sizable sum during immense public fallout.

The report explains: “Hunter, R-Alpine, has reimbursed his campaign about $62,000 in campaign expenses that were personal in nature or lacked proper documentation, including oral surgery, a garage door, video games, resort stays and a jewelry purchase in Italy.”

While we are amazed at how proficient Hunter must be at video games to amass this kind of debt, there is another expense not listed in the above remarkable sentence.

It also happens to be a fee that is pertinent to the travel industry and one that will leave you with a great deal more questions for which we sadly have little in the way of answers.

The report states Hunter was responsible for expenses in upwards of $600 in airline fees for his family’s pet rabbit. This leads us to believe that it’s either one gigantic rabbit or one with expensive taste.

The rabbit charges come amid tremendous scrutiny aimed at Hunter as members of the House sought to axe the House Ethics Committee.

Instead, a greater spotlight has been garnered for Hunter and his dubious finances.

Rep. Duncan Hunter hops up with a $600 rabbit tale. https://t.co/24j7lcrk1t

— AP Politics (@AP_Politics) January 5, 2017

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The San Diego Union-Tribune points to The Press Enterprise that explains that Rep. Hunter’s rabbit fiasco may be a giant misunderstanding.

Hunter’s spokesperson, Joe Kasper, explains to the publication that, “findings or implications are significantly misrepresented or even exaggerated.”

Kasper continues that these rabbit charges, while ridiculous on the surface, may be related to an airline-mile mishap: “(The office) has in their report $600 in campaign expenditures for in cabin rabbit transport fees. Since travel is often done on (airline) miles – which is entirely permissible – the credit card connected to the account was charged several times even when his children were flying.”

The San Diego Union Tribune clarifies Kasper’s point stating that airline miles are permissible use of funds, but in this case a credit card was mistakenly utilized.

This still fails to explain an elephant-sized mystery, which is how often a rabbit has to fly to incur over $500 worth of fees. Anyone looking to shed some airfare costs only have to leave their adorable pets at home.

Kasper continues: “This was nothing more than an oversight. In fact, it’s such an obvious example of a mistake being made but (the office) wants to view it through a lens of possible intent. The same goes for many other expenditures. Many of Rep. Hunter’s repayments had to do with mistakes under specific circumstances, and in other cases there were bona fide campaign activities connected to expenditures that (the office) was not aware of and didn’t account for.”

Sadly, the rabbit could not be reached for comment at the time of this report.

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