A jury has begun deliberations in the federal trial of two aides to Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign who are accused of secretly paying a state lawmaker to endorse their boss. That decision effectively clears two key Paul family aides who had been under an ethical cloud since a December 2011 decision to pay a state senator for his endorsement. He left McConnell’s campaign amid the Iowa bribery scandal. “It feels good.” Asked for further reaction by The Washington Post, Benton repeated himself: “God is great”.
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An indictment handed down in August initially charged Benton with five counts ranging from conspiracy, causing false records and campaign expenditure reports, false statements scheme and false statements. Benton was the former campaign chairman and Kesari was a deputy campaign manager.
Benton is the former campaign manager for U.S. Sen.
The verdict came despite witnesses for the prosecution who testified about pages of emails naming Benton in an attempt to bring Sorenson on board with the Paul campaign in the fall of 2011, after he’d already joined the Bachmann campaign.
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A veteran Kentucky political operative was acquitted Thursday of bribery charges stemming from his work on Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign. The jury remained deadlocked on three other counts, giving federal prosecutors 10 days to determine whether to seek a new trial. Benton and Tate both balked, but Kesari kept the conversation going. Kent Sorenson to switch his loyalty from the Michele Bachmann campaign to Paul ahead of the Iowa Republican caucus. He had contended that Sorenson was essentially an employee of the Paul campaign, attending events with the Texas congressman in the days after his endorsement and recording a robocall for the campaign.
