New indictment renews charges against ex-Ron Paul aides

New indictment renews charges against ex-Ron Paul aides

By DAVID PITT 1 hour ago

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Federal prosecutors continue to pursue criminal charges against three top campaign advisers to 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul.


In a new grand jury indictment filed Thursday in federal court in Des Moines, Paul's 2012 campaign chairman Jesse Benton, campaign manager John Tate and deputy manager Dimitri Kesari are charged with conspiracy to cover up $73,000 in campaign payments to former Iowa Sen. Kent Sorenson. Sorenson dropped his support for Michelle Bachmann and endorsed Paul in December 2011, six days before the Iowa caucuses.

Benton, Tate and Kesari also are charged with causing false campaign contribution reports to be filed to the Federal Election Commission and participating in a false statement scheme. Benton and Tate are charged with causing the campaign to file false records of the payments. Kesari was convicted of that charge last month.

The three men were originally charged in August, but a judge dismissed charges against Tate and all but one charge against Benton because they were based on information the government obtained during FBI interviews last year that the judge said was not admissible.

In the new indictment the charges are based primarily on emails and other communication the prosecutors plan to offer into evidence.

Benton was tried on one count of lying to the FBI, but a Des Moines jury acquitted him of that charge last month. At the same trial Kesari was convicted of causing the campaign to file false records but jurors said they could not reach a verdict on counts alleging conspiracy, causing false campaign expenditure reports and a scheme to falsify statements. Those charges are refiled against Kesari and Benton in the new indictment.

"Mr. Kesari maintains his full innocence in this matter and he looks forward to further vindicating himself before a jury of his peers," his attorney Jesse Binnall said.

Tate's attorney said his client is innocent "and looks forward to prevailing at trial so he can move forward with his life."

Benton's attorney said he was reviewing the new charges and may offer a statement later. He filed a not guilty plea on Friday.

The first court appearance for the three on the new charges is set for Dec. 2. Prosecutors filed a motion seeking a Feb. 8 trial.

The men have previously said they believe the prosecution is politically motivated and that they are another example of the federal government going after tea party-backed conservatives.

They said Sorenson's job as a subcontractor is common in campaigns and the law doesn't require disclosure of payments to subcontractors.

In last month's trial Paul told jurors he suspected federal prosecutors unsealed the indictment against them one day before his son, Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul was set to appear at the Republican Party's first debate of the 2016 campaign.

"I don't consider that a coincidence," Ron Paul said.

Tate is the founder and president of America's Liberty, one of several super political action committees supporting Rand Paul's presidential campaign. Benton, who also helped lead the PAC, is married to Ron Paul's granddaughter, Valori Pyeatt, Rand Paul's niece. Tate and Benton took a leave of absence from the PAC when they were charged.

Sorenson, who entered a plea deal with the government on charges of obstruction of justice and causing a campaign to falsely report expenditures, testified for the prosecution at the first trial.

http://news.yahoo.com/indictment-ren...-election.html

10/22/15

Former Ron Paul Aide Convicted in Pay-for-Endorsement Case

8/5/15

It’s actually legal to buy a political endorsement. You just can’t cover it up.

Jury convicts Ron Paul aides of campaign finance violations

https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/jF...613.png.cf.jpg
DAVID PITT
May 5, 2016

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — Three campaign advisers to 2012 presidential candidate Ron Paul were convicted Thursday in a federal case alleging they conspired to cover up the campaign's payments to a former Iowa state senator who had agreed to endorse their boss.

Prosecutors said it is illegal to cause a campaign to file inaccurate spending documents. They've pursued charges since July 2015 when a grand jury first indicted the men.

Paul's campaign chairman Jesse Benton, campaign manager John Tate and deputy manager Dimitri Kesari argued they broke no laws when they paid a video production company, which passed on $73,000 to former Sen. Kent Sorenson. He dropped support for in the presidential race for Michele Bachmann and endorsed Paul six days before the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

They said they were targeted because of their conservative politics and argued campaigns typically don't identify payments to subcontractors of vendors.

The federal jury convicted Benton, Tate and Kesari of conspiracy, causing false campaign contribution reports to be filed to the Federal Election Commission and participating in a false statement scheme. Benton and Tate also were convicted of causing the campaign to file false records of the payments; Kesari was convicted of that charge last year.

Benton and his attorneys declined to comment after the jury verdict was announced in court following a seven-day trial. He hugged his wife in the hallway outside the courtroom as she sobbed. Benton is married to Ron Paul's granddaughter, Valori Pyeatt.

Tate and his attorneys also declined to comment.

Kesari's attorney, Jesse Binnall said he will appeal. He said federal prosecutors were overzealous in charging the men with actions that the FEC has not pursued in other campaigns.

"What they did here doesn't constitute a crime," he said. "Nothing they did was wrong."

Sentencing will be set later. The judge continued their bond and the men walked out of the courtroom.

All three men face a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the charge of causing the campaign to file false records of the payments. The other three charges carry maximum prison sentences of five years each.

Ron Paul, who testified at the trail, said the men didn't try to hide anything. He has long contended the prosecution was politically motivated toward the men, who have been active in political action groups and conservative tea party efforts.

Benton also managed the successful 2010 U.S. Senate campaign for Paul's son, Rand Paul, in Kentucky.

Benton took a leave of absence from America's Liberty, a super PAC supporting Rand Paul's presidential run, when the legal fight against the charges began last year. Rand Paul suspended his presidential bid in February.

Benton also served as campaign manager for Sen. Mitch McConnell's 2014 re-election, but resigned that summer as the Iowa investigation intensified.

A spokesman for Ron Paul said Paul was not making comments on the outcome of the trial. Rand Paul did not immediately respond to messages.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/jury-conv...ion.html?nhp=1