GOP Congressman Duncan Hunter is playing a dangerous pardon game with Donald Trump
If you’re familiar with GOP Congressman Duncan Hunter at all, it’s likely due to his indictment last year for alleged campaign finance fraud. He’s still awaiting trial. Instead of laying low and hoping he gets acquitted, Hunter popped up on the national radar when he confessed to what sounds like a war crime. So what’s he doing?
Donald Trump has created yet another scandal by floating the idea of pardoning Edward Gallagher for war crimes he allegedly committed while serving in the U.S. military, including opening fire on crowds of civilians, shooting children, and posing for a photo next the dead body of someone he had just killed. Numerous prominent military veterans – including GOP Senator Joni Ernst – have publicly urged Trump not to grant the pardon, arguing instead that Gallagher’s fate should be decided by a military trial. Then there’s Duncan Hunter.
Duncan Hunter admitted out of nowhere this week that when he was in the military, he also posed for a photo with the dead body of an enemy combatant. This is surreal, considering that Hunter is confessing to one crime at a time when he’s about to stand trial for another kind of crime. Why would Hunter do this to himself?
Donald Trump clearly needs a military veteran to back him up on his plan to pardon Gallagher, and Duncan Hunter is conveniently providing that cover by throwing what’s left of his own reputation into the shredder. You almost have to wonder if Hunter is helping Trump out with this because Hunter is hoping Trump will pardon him on the campaign finance fraud charges. Such a pardon would end Hunter’s career in Congress – but it would certainly be preferable to the prison sentence Hunter is facing if he’s convicted.
