House Ethics Committee informs Duncan Hunter he can no longer vote after guilty plea


The House Ethics Committee Thursday informed Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) that he can no longer vote in the House of Representatives after pleading guilty to misusing campaign funds.

The ethics panel sent Hunter a letter telling him that his guilty plea triggered a House rule saying that any member convicted of a crime that could receive a prison sentence of two or more years “should refrain from voting on any question at a meeting of the House…unless or until judicial or executive proceedings result in reinstatement of the presumption of innocence…or until the Member is reelected to the House after the date of such conviction.”

Hunter, who changed his plea in federal court in San Diego Tuesday, faces up to five years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced on March 17. He was present for votes on Wednesday but did not vote on Thursday

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