SAN DIEGO _ A federal judge ruled Monday that the trial of Rep. Duncan D. Hunter, R-Calif., would not be moved out of San Diego at this time, and prosecutors would not be excluded because of alleged political bias.
U.S. District Judge Thomas J. Whelan denied both requests, which attorneys for Hunter had made in pretrial motions late last month. He also denied Hunter's motion to dismiss the whole indictment based on alleged violation of constitutional protections for legislative materials and official actions.
Whelan left open the possibility that the trial could be moved out of San Diego County if the court finds during jury selection that the pool is too tainted by prejudice to ensure Hunter receives a fair trial.
Motions on which Whelan ruled Monday were left over from dozens slated to be decided at a hearing last week. Whelan had deferred ruling on the handful of motions until this week because they had not been fully briefed in time for him to carefully consider them.
Hunter is accused of improperly spending $250,000 in campaign dollars on family vacations, getaways with girlfriends, dental work, private school tuition, video games and more. He and his wife and former campaign manager, Margaret Hunter, were originally indicted on 60 criminal charges and pleaded not guilty.
Margaret Hunter changed her plea to guilty of one count of criminal conspiracy, which included her admission that she and her husband knew they were breaking the law by making personal purchases with campaign donations.
Margaret Hunter did not attend the hearing Monday. Duncan Hunter was accompanied by his attorneys and his father and congressional predecessor, Duncan L. Hunter.
Last week prosecutors filed a series of motions, including one that spelled out some of Duncan Hunter's questionable expenditures that prosecutors said were linked to his extramarital affairs with five women, including three lobbyists and two congressional staffers.
Whelan ruled the evidence could be introduced at trial, but that prosecutors should work on their wording to avoid undue prejudice against Hunter.
Whelan deferred until trial a ruling on whether she will be allowed to testify.
The women Hunter is alleged to have had affairs with were identified in court documents by numbers, not names.
Hunter is slated to be tried in September.
