Jesse Benton, a campaign staffer for Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell, has been charged with trying to funnel Russian money to Trump and the RNC.
The Paul/McConnell Russia Connection Resurfaces
In an unsealed indictment,dated September 9, prosecutors allege Jesse Benton “conspired to illegally funnel thousands of dollars of foreign money from a Russian foreign national” into the campaign.
In October 2016, Benton received a $100,000 wire transfer from the unnamed Russian national, the indictment states, promising him that he would get to “meet a celebrity” at a fundraiser in Philadelphia on September 22, 2016.
Prosecutors do not name the candidate, but former President Donald Trump washosting a fundraiserthat night at the Ritz-Carlton in Center City, Philadelphia.
Benton labeled the Russian cash “consulting work,” kept a cut for himself, and donated the rest to a campaign, likely Trump.
The former McConnell and Paul staffer was already convicted of campaign finance crimes related to the Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign, but he was pardoned by Trump, who just happened to be the likely guy who got the Russian cash.
Jesse Benton could be going to prison for a very long time. He has been charged with six counts that each carries a term of 5-20 years in prison.
The Republican Party appears to be infested with Russian cash and influence, and the threat to democracy has bought itself a political party.
Awards and Professional Memberships
Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association
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