Thread by @bradheath

The Justice Department wants a judge to prohibit Rep. @Rep_Hunter from "offering evidence or argument concerning alleged political biases or motives of the prosecution team" or making other comments that could "poison the pool of potential jurors."

Rep. Hunter, a Republican, says his prosecution by the Justice Department, currently run by Republican appointees of President Trump, is the "deep state" and was trying to "rig the election their own way."

President Trump, a Republican, previously criticized his attorney general, also a Republican, for allowing the prosecution of two Republican congressmen.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1036681588573130752

DOJ basically says @rep_hunter should raise his allegation of political bias properly, in a motion to dismiss, or shut up.

The Justice Department filed a notice saying Rep. Duncan Hunter illegally used campaign funds to pay for "intimate" encounters with several women, and prosecutors want a judge's permission to tell jurors about those romances.

DOJ says @rep_hunter took a lobbyist skiing near Lake Tahoe, and charged it to his campaign. Prosecutors said their relationship "blossomed beyond a mere friendship." They say he even charged the campaign for his $7 Sam Adams when he arrived in Tahoe.

DOJ says Hunter took the unnamed lobbyist on a "double date road trip" to Virginia Beach with another member of Congress. He charged the campaign for their hotel room and bar tab.

DOJ says Rep. Hunter used campaign money to take another woman, a House aide with whom he had been intimate, for drinks. Then he charged the campaign $21 for an Uber back to his office at 1:49 a.m.

DOJ says Rep. Hunter billed his campaign $42 for an Uber after he engaged in "intimate personal activities" with a lobbyist at her D.C. area home. "That night," prosecutors wrote, "was not about business."

DOJ says Rep. Hunter billed his campaign for an Uber in 2016 after he spent the night at the home of yet another Washington lobbyist, "where they engaged in intimate personal activities unrelated to Hunter's congressional campaign."

DOJ says there's other "sensitive conduct,", but they don't want to say what it is, other than that it's "clearly non-work related activity during get-togethers with his close personal friends" and that it could potentially taint the jury pool if revealed.

Perhaps not surprisingly, federal prosecutors filed a notice saying they might call Rep. Hunter's wife as a witness against him.

Filings: documentcloud.org/documents/6167…, documentcloud.org/documents/6167…

Meanwhile, @rep_hunter wants a court to throw out the charges against him because two officials in the U.S. Attorney's office attended a Hillary Clinton fundraiser in 2016 and wanted a photo with her.

The argument for why that requires dismissal is ... thin. He argues he was prosecuted in retaliation for endorsing Trump, but in support of that, he argues only that two AUSAs on the case appear to have supported Clinton. It's here: documentcloud.org/documents/6166…

Rep. Hunter also argues that lying on campaign disclosure forms might maybe be a crime, but that should be up to the FEC, and it's definitely not obstruction, because that would chill "the First Amendment rights of every member and candidate for Congress."

Here's that argument: documentcloud.org/documents/6167…

Hunter also argues that three of the 60 charges against him are unconstitutional because they would require a court to interpret a House rule. documentcloud.org/documents/6167…

And DOJ says Rep. Hunter, despite drawing a $170,000 salary as a congressman, was basically broke. "So little compunction did they feel about stealing to make ends meet, they began to use campaign funds for such basic expenses as cigarettes, gasoline and groceries."

DOJ wants a jury to hear about Rep. Hunter's financial circumstances. documentcloud.org/documents/6167…

Some federal prosecutor enjoyed writing these filings.

"Intimate personal activities unrelated to Hunter's congressional campaign" is easily among the best euphemisms for "sex" that I've seen in a court filing.

Here's the story: Prosecutors say Rep. Duncan Hunter illegally used campaign funds to pay for extramarital affairs with three lobbyists, a leadership aide and one of his staffers. (Plus some other stuff.)
usatoday.com/story/news/pol…

Also, @usatoday's @big_cases bot found and posted these filings last night. It's posted about 227,000 pages of federal court records so far (many from behind the courts' paywall), and if you like high-profile federal court cases, it's the robot for you.