OAKLAND — Former Rep. Duncan Hunter could wait to serve a prison term until 2021 as coronavirus upends the corrections system.
Hunter was sentenced to 11 months earlier this year after the San Diego Republican pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance law by spending campaign funds on personal matters.
At the time of his March sentencing, U.S. District Judge Thomas Whelan said Hunter was not required to surrender until May given the pervasive threat of infection.
California has since gone into lockdown under a statewide order issued by Gov. Gavin Newsom, and correctional facilities have tried to reduce their populations to control the spread of the coronavirus inside.
Attorneys for Hunter and the government filed a motion on Tuesday to push back Hunter's report date until January 2021. In exchange, Hunter would not seek to modify his term or claim that his home confinement counted toward the 11-month prison stint.
"The parties submit this extension is appropriate due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and the unknown impacts the disease will have in the coming months," the filing says.