There can't be many gamers out there who aren't familiar with the story of the vaping congressmen who spent campaign funds on Steam games. Way back in 2016, when life was a lot simpler, US congressman Duncan Hunter landed himself in hot water after being accused of spending more than $1,300 of his campaign funds on Steam games.
Hunter claimed at the time that it was his teenage son who was responsible for one charge, while the others were were unauthorized charges that came as a result of him attempting to block access to Steam.
Unfortunately for Hunter and his family, those Steam transactions ended up being the least of their worries. Just two years later, Hunter and his wife were indicted over allegations that they'd used $250,000 worth of campaign funds for personal expenses and filed false campaign finance records to keep it quieted. Military media outlet Task & Purpose noted at the time that these expenses ran the gamut from groceries to a family vacation to Italy. Yikes.
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It indictment also said that the Hunters "spent a total of $1,528.68 in Campaign funds at Steam Games on videogame charges", which is of course more than they were initially accused of having spent. You'd assume after all of this that Hunter might be in trouble, right? Well, you are wrong.
Here's what went down: Hunter's wife and campaign manager Margaret pleaded guilty in June last year, and was sentenced to three years probation and eight months of house arrest in March this year. Would you believe she filed for device just a few weeks ago? Hunter decided to fight the charges right up until December 2019, when he eventually settled on a plea deal and admitted to a single charge of misusing campaign funds.
Hunter was sentenced to 11 months, starting January 4th, 2021. He was supposed to start back in May 2020, but it was postponed as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak. In an unexpected twist of fate, Hunter will now completely avoid prison altogether.
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As reported by NPR (via PC Gamer), Hunter has been given a full pardon by outgoing US President Donald Trump, who seems to have decided to use his last month in office to dish out presidential pardons like Tic Tacs. The White House issued a statement confirming that the pardon has been granted "at the request of many Members of Congress," and added Hunter's case "could have been handled as a civil case via the Federation Election Commission." If you were wondering, Hunter's wife was not given a pardon. Shocker.
Hunter's pardon was just one of the 15 dished out by Trump on December 22nd. Others were given to two former Border Patrol agents convicted of illegally killing a Mexican drug smuggler in 2005 and then trying to cover it up, and four Blackwater guards who murdered 17 Iraqi civilians and injured another 20 in 2007.
Featured Image Credit: US House of Representatives/Valve