Indicted GOP lawmaker spent campaign cash on affairs with three different lobbyists and one of his own staffers: DOJ

A new filing from the Department of Justice claims that Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-CA) has had multiple extramarital affairs since first taking office in 2009 -- including three with registered lobbyists and one with one of his own staff members.

According to the DOJ filing, as flagged by USA Today's Brad Heath, Hunter illegally used money donated to his congressional campaign to "carry out a series of intimate relationships" with women who were all involved in politics.

The DOJ argued that it needs to be able to discuss these affairs in front of jury in order to prove Hunter deliberately misused campaign funds.

"Evidence of the intimate, entirely personal quality of Hunter's specific encounters with these women is essential to demonstrate that his spending to facilitate those encounters was improper," the DOJ wrote. "At trial, the evidence will demonstrate that Hunter improperly used campaign funds to pursue these romances wholly unrelated to either his congressional campaigns or his official duties as a member of Congress."

Hunter's wife, Margaret Hunter, earlier this month pleaded guilty to a single felony count of conspiracy related to the misuse of campaign funds. It is unknown at this time whether she is cooperating with prosecutors who are working on her husband's case, however.