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Darrell Issa: Trump Clemency for Duncan Hunter Could Be ‘Public Good’

The former congressman argued that it would cost money to put Hunter behind bars.

Former Rep. Darrell Issa told The San Diego Union-Tribune that there would be a public benefit to President Trump commuting California Republican Rep. Duncan Hunter’s prison sentence. “It’s not my decision. It’s the president’s decision,” said Issa, who announced his intention to run for Hunter’s seat earlier this year. “But I would certainly say the commuting of sentencing… has a certain ability to balance the public good. Are we better off spending $60,000 a year to put him behind bars or are we better off with him doing community service and going on with his life with the likelihood of him committing a crime in the future being pretty low?”

Hunter, one of the first members of Congress to endorse Trump’s presidential bid in 2016, recently pleaded guilty to misusing his campaign funds for personal expenses. Since becoming president, Trump has pardoned 18 people and commuted the sentences of six individuals—some of whom were his political allies. Issa had his own financial scandal in 2011, when he was accused of using his position in Congress to “repeatedly” promote his private financial interests.