A federal jury on Thursday acquitted one former Ron Paul presidential staffer but convicted another regarding a false record.
Jurors acquitted formerRon Paul campaign chair Jesse Benton of a single count of lying to FBI agents.
Former deputy campaign manager Dimitri Kesari was found guilty of causing a false record.
The two had been charged in a purported scheme to pay a former Iowa state senator $73,000 for his endorsement.
UPDATE (via WaPo)
"God is great," Benton told Des Moines Register reporter Grant Rodgers as he left the Southern District of Iowa federal courthouse today. "It feels good." Asked for further reaction by The Washington Post, Benton repeated himself: "God is great."
"I am happy that justice has been served," Rand Paul said in a statement.
UPDATE 2
The jury remained deadlocked on three other counts, giving federal prosecutors 10 days to determine whether to seek a new trial.
I don't like Jesse Benton but I'm glad he got off. Hopefully the same will happen for the other guy on appeal. This is nothing but a fishing expedition for overzealous Federal prosecutors. They seek these types of convictions not to right any wrongs. These convictions are used to pad the resumes of Federal prosecutors. More of your government dollars at work.
ReplyDeleteSame here. Benton is not a principled liberty lover, I have no idea why Ron hired him in the first place. But this is why we have jury trials. The founding fathers weren't perfect, but atleast they gave us that, instead of having all cases decided by judges.
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