Representative Duncan Hunter indicted for stealing $250k from campaign

[Babbylonian]

I'm also thinking it's his kids. A lot of the expenses I've seen itemized were for the benefit of family in general. The biggest ones appear to be vacations, for example.

How does a kid get access to a campaign account?

Yeah, a kid may have made the selections, but somebody handed the kid a campaign credit card (or the numbers of one). The only way that's possible is if corruption is baked right into the campaign.

 

[Norman Alexander]

I do like an OP that starts with the words "Today's indictments..." when referring to the Trump hangers-on. Just saying.

 

[Jim_MDP]

What depressed me a bit was seeing the utter consumption involved. I mean, versus capital investment. If I was embezzling, I can't imagine spending it on consumables, y'know? Probably going to prison for stuffed duck decorations.

It's like Brewster's Millions, nothing to show for all that embezzlement.

Agreed, but I'd also call these two "pikers".
This needs a thread and I'm fuzzy on the details but... a school board in Wyoming (?) is finding out what happens when you spend ~$6 million on travel, dining, entertainment, etc.
A quarter mill? Meh. [emoji14]

 

[jimbob]

What depressed me a bit was seeing the utter consumption involved. I mean, versus capital investment. If I was embezzling, I can't imagine spending it on consumables, y'know? Probably going to prison for stuffed duck decorations.

It's like Brewster's Millions, nothing to show for all that embezzlement.

Well that has always struck me about a lot of high-profile white collar crimes.

The sheer venality, and small amounts stolen.

Regardless of the morals, I wouldn't risk my career (let alone my liberty) for a a fairly small multiple of my annual income ($174k according to google)

 

[Stacyhs]

Looks like Mr. and Mrs. Hunter had their donors pay for their kids' school tuition and a trip to Italy.

 

[theprestige]

But.

 

[Lurch]

But.

And?.....

 

[Stacyhs]

But.

And?.....

Clinton! Emails! Benghazi!

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

I wonder how far the rot in the GOP spreads? How many of them are representing the Kremlin rather than their own constituents?

Pretty damn far.

From a previous post: Predictably, the Russians are gloating over the fact that GOP lawmakers met with their Russian counterparts in a secret room.
@SenJohnKennedy (LA)
@SenShelby (AL)
@SteveDaines (MT)
@SenJohnHoeven (ND)
@SenJohnThune (SD)
@JerryMoran (KS)
@RepKayGranger (TX)
@SenRonJohnson (WI)

 

[Skeptic Ginger]

Then there is this bit of disgusting attitude when he's in Congress:

From @NBCNews
“US Justice Dept.: US Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife indicted by federal grand jury for allegedly converting more than $250,000 in campaign funds to pay for personal expenses and filing false campaign finance records with FEC.”

That’s a lotta vape pens.
Go to the link to see the gif of this ******* blowing smoke into other people's space. What a creep.

 

[fagin]

Just to be pedantic, it's not smoke. It's water vapour. There is no combustion.

 

[Darat]

Just to be pedantic, it's not smoke. It's water vapour. There is no combustion.

Usually with nicotine and other chemicals in it.

 

[fagin]

Correct but minimal by the time you breath it out, all the **** is happily absorbed by your lungs.

Or that's the general idea.

 

[TragicMonkey]

Correct but minimal by the time you breath it out, all the **** is happily absorbed by your lungs.

Or that's the general idea.

I wonder if people who vape realize that fungal infections in the lungs is a thing that can happen to them. It's not as bad as cancer, I guess, but it certainly sounds very gross.

 

[fagin]

Possibly more to due to hygiene than actual vaping, but if you can find a documented case I'll listen.

"Likely, the cause of these cases does have something to do with the use of e-cigarettes, but the e-liquid is not the guilty culprit. Hygiene, or rather lack thereof, is undoubtedly the most probable cause of these cases of mold. An informal study at Tulsa University recently showed that in a small sample of currently used e-cigarette devices, two-thirds of the samples detected the presence of mold, yeast and/or other kinds of bacteria. While the study was too small to be statistically valid, the presence of the bacteria strains is certainly a cause for concern. Dr. Mohammed Fakhry of Tulsa University found the samples he tested “were really full of a good number of bacteria species and also some fungi.” His suggestion is to put more emphasis on cleaning, he says his results are “a good reminder that you have to clean them out because there is high numbers [of bacteria], and even regular non-pathogenic bacteria in large numbers… you don’t know what they can do.”"

https://vapercity.com/blog/do-e-cigs-cause-mold-in-the-lungs/

Maybe not an unbiased link but this one has a paywall.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/vaping-is-linked-to-deadly-lung-infections-fwbr59mbc

Not that I really give a **** as I have terminal cancer anyway. So I'll enjoy whatever **** I want in the meantime.

Edited to add. It does sound a bit gross though.

 

[acbytesla]

Well that has always struck me about a lot of high-profile white collar crimes.

The sheer venality, and small amounts stolen.

Regardless of the morals, I wouldn't risk my career (let alone my liberty) for a a fairly small multiple of my annual income ($174k according to google)

I worked for a small company of about 30 people where 3 separate CEOs in a 10 year period were convicted of crimes. All of whom personally profited as much as 10 million dollars. None of them went to prison. The harshest penalty any of the 3 faced was a 1.2 million dollar fine and house arrest in his 3,000 square foot home with an ankle bracelet.

The only remorse I ever saw from any of them was about getting caught.

 

[blutoski]

How does a kid get access to a campaign account?

Duncan or spouse probably set up the Steam account with a campaign expense card.

Yeah, a kid may have made the selections, but somebody handed the kid a campaign credit card (or the numbers of one). The only way that's possible is if corruption is baked right into the campaign.

I wasn't dismissing corruption - I was just saying that Duncan may not have been the person buying the games specifically. This was in response to earlier posts speculating about what sort of games an adult would be playing. I was proposing it was probably the kids, not Dad, who was playing.

 

[blutoski]

I worked for a small company of about 30 people where 3 separate CEOs in a 10 year period were convicted of crimes. All of whom personally profited as much as 10 million dollars. None of them went to prison. The harshest penalty any of the 3 faced was a 1.2 million dollar fine and house arrest in his 3,000 square foot home with an ankle bracelet.

The only remorse I ever saw from any of them was about getting caught.

It's a local history story, but I have seen similar: my friend's mom was Faye Leung. She was a real estate developer in Vancouver who defrauded families of tens of millions of dollars in the 1980s. She was a friend of the premier. Ultimately, she was given a few months' house arrest. I saw what that meant in reality: she got to hang around her waterfront mansions (she had several and could travel from one to another, if she got tired of the city or countryside). She won a concession to go on shopping trips 'for groceries' even though she had an army of servants who did that. Thus, she could leave the house pretty much anytime she wanted to go to parties at friends' houses, see musicals, &c.

None of the victims were compensated. Some were bankrupted. I was aghast at the injustice.

 

[acbytesla]

It's a local history story, but I have seen similar: my friend's mom was Faye Leung. She was a real estate developer in Vancouver who defrauded families of tens of millions of dollars in the 1980s. She was a friend of the premier. Ultimately, she was given a few months' house arrest. I saw what that meant in reality: she got to hang around her waterfront mansions (she had several and could travel from one to another, if she got tired of the city or countryside). She won a concession to go on shopping trips 'for groceries' even though she had an army of servants who did that. Thus, she could leave the house pretty much anytime she wanted to go to parties at friends' houses, see musicals, &c.

None of the victims were compensated. Some were bankrupted. I was aghast at the injustice.

Yep. But my bosses weren't even politically connected. Just typical white collar criminals that got caught.

 

[Babbylonian]

Correct but minimal by the time you breath it out, all the **** is happily absorbed by your lungs.

Or that's the general idea.

In the gif you'll see that there's no inhalation. He's one of the ******** who vape to make big clouds and get into arguments about it. "But I'm not smoking" is equivalent to a kid waving a hand near a sibling and saying "but I'm not touching you."

I've vaped both nicotine and THC and never produced a cloud that was large or even noticeable for more than 3 seconds. People who do are by definition douchebags.