The latest story by the UT continues to reveal that their priority is furthering a political agenda rather than providing professional journalism. On October 8, 2018, I had a working campaign lunch with my staff off-site and on our own time, totaling $146.29 at a restaurant named Cannonball, which happens to be owned by Belmont Park Entertainment. A copy of my receipt can be viewed below. This item was fully disclosed and made available to the Federal Elections Commission (FEC). Rather than taking the time to determine if Belmont Park Entertainment actually included restaurants, they have at least three, the UT chose to run a story with the headline Hunter Report Spending Hundreds at Amusement Park with a picture of people riding a roller coaster. This story was then carried by another LA news outlet, this time with the headline Hunter Campaign Reports Spending $2K at Amusement Park. Fake news at its finest.
The Los Angeles Times, which shares the same ownership as the UT, has now repeated this story in a recent puff piece profiling the opponent I recently defeated. It’s important to remember that this story was written by the same reporter who claimed I visited bars 300 times, characterizing any place that sold alcohol as a bar, including the Capitol Hill Club which every single Republican utilizes in DC because it is illegal to do campaign work in our Capitol offices. The Democrats have their own place called the National Democratic Club, also located on the Capitol Hill complex. This is the same publication that claimed my dad was cheating on his property taxes when all he did was pay in full the bill that arrived at his house from the County of San Diego. The UT never retracted that story; they will not retract this one.
There is an agenda, it is not imagined, it is #FakeNews for all to see. There are plenty of areas on which to report, both in DC and here in my district. I have no problem with differing views on policy or politics, but professional journalists have a public mandate to report facts and to make the effort to verify these facts before reporting. Contacting my office at the 11th hour for a comment on a story the UT has already written does not fulfill this obligation and their readers deserve better.
Comments 17
Congressmen Hunter it’s a crime how these publications can print lies constantly and never retract or apologize to the person. I’m with you 100% don’t believe a word they’re saying. You’re a good person. Republican Women of California Intermountain are all behind you also.. Thank you for your service in the military and all you do politically. Hope to see you at our club again soon.
You’re a good man, Duncan. And, you do good things for, and represent our district well. Damn the torpedos. Full speed ahead.
“Truth is not a left-wing value.” Dennis Prager
But yet the press wonders why they are Fake News. Yellow Journalism is alive and thriving under the guise of truth in reporting. UT is a tabloid dressed up in journalistic robes.
This was a painful read. AT A MINIMUM, you should provide the itemized receipt and cite the story you are refuting. And based on your grammar and poor sentence construction, I’m surprised you passed 3rd grade, let alone got elected to congressional office. I guess it shows ANYONE can be elected to political office if one picks the right district. Good luck in court (and prison).
Duncan, thanks for all you do. The Communist left makes assumptions without truth, writes fake stories, creates conspiracy theories, and pushes their theories as fact. I never read their papers, nor listen to their fake news. Too ignorant, childish, and insane.
Rep. Hunter, I no longer live in San Diego or Ca, but I stand with you 100%. Keep spreading the truth, I suggest you hire the Covington Boys Attorney and go after the UT and LATimes. They are disgusting liars.
It’s past time for conservatives to fight back hard. We will win this war.
Excuse me, didn’t you falsely claim a natural born Christian American was a Muslim terrorist who wanted to infiltrate Congress? Talk about fact checking! OMG! You’re a piece of work!
Representative Hunter, I am your designated Delegate, I have supported, encouraged and prayed for you throughout your service to your constituents and will not give up unless you do. I don’t expect you will. You have fought bigger battles than this and won. You must respond to every accusation with your truth. Be visible and prove to all these skeptics you are not the man they paint you to be. Your statement here should go out throughout your District and beyond. I have not given up on you and ask my Republican Sisters to stand up for you also.
A 60-charge INDICTMENT by the U.S. Department of Justice that resulted from REAL INVESTIGATION and YOUR OWN WORDS TO ATTEMPT LAYING BLAME ON YOUR WIFE AND OTHERS. . . .
That speaks louder than this latest tactic and your lousy write-up about it.
CA50 is comprised of honest, hard-working, intelligent, constituents of all stripes who are either no longer fooled by you, or who never were. You do NOT OWN OUR CONGRESSIONAL SEAT, we reject you as you have soiled/stained it
I stopped taking that liberal yellow journalistic rag years ago. They don’t know the first thing about being unbiased which is supposed to be their mission statement, so my advise is to stop reading this trash and don’t give them a second glance.
My dad taught me that trust is easily lost, and once lost is very difficult to restore.
Congressman Hunter doesn’t like being questioned about campaign spending linked to an amusement park, and his explanation may be factually correct. However, what he fails to mention is that he has been previously caught and is currently under indictment for illegally using campaign funds to buy family mementos at Disney and Sea World outings and lying to his campaign finance person about the charges.
After that history, one should expect scrutiny for any campaign charges linked to amusement parks for the foreseeable future. That’s why my dad taught me to carefully guard my own reputation as a trustworthy person.
Apparently, the main lesson Rep. Hunter learned from his father was how to throw your wife under the bus Instead of taking responsibility.
None of this matters. Rep Hunter is going to jail and everyone knows it. Go back through the SD Rostra archives, and read all of the GOP strategy about how to manage the transition when (not if) Hunter goes to the pokey.
Bye, Duncan.
Lunch ends at 4:52 pm?
I guess it’s 5:00 somewhere.
Hey – is Congressman Hunter still a Marine reservist?
You right wing flakes are delusional this sick criminal grifter tried to use campaign funds to pay personal expenses and trips practically from the day he took office. You rostra flakes need to stop watching fox lies and dimbart and get some facts in your head. This creep is so dirty even his fallow repubs kicked him out of every committee.
@Dimbob Kremp:
As evidenced by the various comments before yours, not all Rostra readers agree on the matter. In fact, you are apparently a Rostra flake yourself, since you read it, and you disagree with Hunter.
Carry on.
@Paul Therrio:
We didn’t approve your comment. We did assume you were astute enough to know that you can’t accuse people of illegal behavior without proof. No, proof is not because someone told you. And, before you go there, that rule (which is a standard in the news/publication/media business) has been applied here far more times when commenters accuse Democrats of illegal activities than for Republicans.
Carry on.
Thor’s Assistant: While I respect your decision there is nothing that I am accusing the Hunters of that is illegal. This is S.O.P. of pork barrel politics. When Newt was the speaker there were several defence related companies that magically appeared in his district. Our way of government has always been based on systematic bribery. I asked an Austrian friend of mine if their government was as screwed up as ours. He said “No, we don’t allow money in politics”.