DOJ seeks to throw out indicted congressman's law firm for allegedly representing both sides

On Monday, the Justice Department filed a motion to disqualify the law firm Fletcher & Mack from representing Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) in his upcoming federal trial for misuse of campaign funds.

The law firm, contended DOJ prosecutors, is also representing witnesses who are set to testify against Hunter, and thus has a serious conflict of interest.

Hunter was charged last year, along with his wife Margaret, with spending over $250,000 in campaign funds on personal trips, dental work, and to settle bar tabs, among other things — and falsifying FEC spending reports to make their theft look legitimate. Damning transcripts revealed Hunter's wife told him to charge a purchase of clothes as "[golf] balls for the wounded warriors, and that he demanded the Navy "go f**k themselves" after personnel refused to allow him to tour a base to make it look as though there was a campaign purpose to his trip to Europe.

Initially, Hunter tried to blame the whole thing on his wife — but this got a lot harder after evidence emerged that Hunter also spent campaign cash on a series of sexual liaisons with mistresses, including three lobbyists and a member of his staff. His wife is now reportedly cooperating with prosecutors.

Despite at least some of this going public before the 2018 midterm elections, Hunter managed to narrowly win re-election to his heavily conservative district, which covers inland portions of San Diego and Riverside County.