Jesse Benton Just Got a $79,681 Check From a Rand Paul SuperPac

That didn't take long.

Less than 24 hours after Jesse Benton was acquitted on charges that he lied to the FBI, America's Liberty PAC, which supports the Rand Paul presidential campaign, paid out $79,681 to Jesse, according to a filing the PAC made today with the FEC.

It is still not clear, of course, whether Jesse is completely out of the woods with regard to government prosecution in the Kent Sorenson case. The Department of Justice has still not said whether they will seek new charges against Benton after the judge threw out some earlier charges because prosecutors when they presented their case to the grand jury that originally indicted Benton, used testimony Benton made during a proffer .

 -RW

Here's the filing. Titan Strategies is Jesse's company.

SCHEDULE E

INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES

FILING FEC-1030994

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Committee: AMERICA'S LIBERTY PAC

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Titan Strategies

4003 Woodstone Way
Louisville, Kentucky 40241

Purpose of Expenditure: Direct Mail
Name of Federal Candidate supported or opposed by expenditure: Rand Paul 
Office Sought: President
State is New Hampshire in District 
Date of Disbursement or Obligation = 10/20/2015
Date of Public Distribution/Dissemination = 10/20/2015
Person Completing Form: Elizabeth G Newberry 
Date Signed = 10/22/2015

Amount Expended = $39840.50
Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $0.00

---

Titan Strategies

4003 Woodstone Way
Louisville, Kentucky 40241

Purpose of Expenditure: Direct Mail
Name of Federal Candidate supported or opposed by expenditure: Rand Paul 
Office Sought: President
State is Iowa in District 
Date of Disbursement or Obligation = 10/20/2015
Date of Public Distribution/Dissemination = 10/20/2015
Person Completing Form: Elizabeth G Newberry 
Date Signed = 10/22/2015

Amount Expended = $39840.50
Calendar YTD Per Election for Office Sought = $0.00

---

Subtotal of Itemized Independent Expenditures = $79681
Subtotal of Unitemized Independent Expenditures = $0
Total Expenditures This Period = $79681

---

Generated Fri Oct 23 16:48:05 2015

BREAKING Verdict in Trial of Ron Paul Operatives

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.

Jury Reports Deadlock on 3 Counts in Trial of Ron Paul Operatives

Jurors reportedly have a unanimous decision on three charges brought against former Ron Paul presidential campaign staffers, but they will continue deliberations on Thursday in hopes of reaching a verdict on all counts, reports the Des Moines Register.

The 6 charges are:

Jurors Set to Begin Deliberations in the Trial of Ron Paul Inc. Operatives

Jurors are set to begin deliberating on Tuesday in the federal trial of two former Ron Paul presidential campaign staffers accused in a plot to secretly pay $73,000 to a former Iowa state senator for his endorsement, reports the Des Moines Register.

The separate defense teams for former campaign chair Jesse Benton and deputy campaign manager Dimitri Kesari took less than six hours to present their cases on Monday, following more than three days of testimony from prosecution witnesses. A prosecutor and defense lawyers are expected to make closing arguments on Tuesday morning before jurors begin deliberating.

Benton faces a single charge of lying to FBI agents during interviews in July 2014, while Kesari faces multiple counts, including conspiracy.

HOT Ron Paul Explodes on Stand

During the second day of the trial of Ron Paul Inc. operatives, Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari, Ron Paul was called to the stand.

He was clearly a reluctant prosecution witness. No, make that a very reluctant and furious witness.

WaPo's David Weigel reports that "Prosecutors had to show him his own grand jury testimony, twice, to get Paul to confirm that Kesari -- whose e-mails revealed a six-month deal to pay Sorenson through a pass-through company -- had effectively been an assistant to Benton.

"I'm not positive of the title," said Paul. "There were a lot of people working for the campaign... everyone reported to [campaign manager] John Tate and Jesse."

Dr. Paul hit back at the prosecutors during cross-examination. Weigel again:

Former Texas congressman Ron Paul, who took the stand Wednesday in the trial of two aides to his 2012 presidential campaign, said in court he and his family had been "victimized" by the years-long probe.

As his former campaign chairman Jesse Benton and former deputy campaign manager Dimitri Kesari looked on, Paul lambasted the government and media for an investigation that has stretched over three years, and said he was offended to see his family dragged into a seemingly endless scandal.

"I feel victimized a whole lot," said an emotional Paul, under cross-examination by Kesari's attorney. "The real victimization here is happening to me and my family. It's been a heavy burden. I didn't even know it was legal to make someone testify against a family member!"...

Paul saved his ire for the prosecution itself. He recounted angrily how he'd "read in the paper" that he was about to testify against his family. He fully supported Benton, he said, and hated to see his daughter put on a witness stand.

"As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed," said Paul. "I feel like my daughter has been victimized, when she's getting treatment for cancer and she has to come up here."
Paul also reiterated his initial reaction to the indictment, angrily recounting that it was discussed as a possibility for months but only was released the day before the first 2016 Republican presidential debate, "where my son Rand had been invited," forcing him to answer awkward questions.

"I consider that more than a coincidence," Paul said. "I consider it an injustice."

Grant Rodgers at the Des Moines Register reports:

Paul appeared unhappy to be testifying against the two, particularly because Benton is married to his granddaughter. During cross-examination from Benton's attorney, Paul said he still stands by grandson-in-law, who chaired his 2012 campaign.

"As far as I'm concerned, nothing has changed," he said about his feelings toward Benton...

Paul left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. But he told the jurors that he had no knowledge of his campaign making payments to Sorenson. He said he'd still support Benton, and that he doesn't currently feel "victimized" by his former staffers.

"Maybe that attitude will change, but right now I don't feel victimized," he said. "...I'm not testifying for the defense, I'm testifying to the prosecution. And that's been a heavy burden for my family."

-RW

Why Megyn Kelly is on the Ron Paul Inc. Operatives Trial Witness List

Megyn Kelly is on the prosecutor's list as a  witness in the Ron Paul Inc. operatives trial in Des Moines, Iowa. Here's why.

During a Dec. 26, 2012, dinner in Altoona, Iowa, Dimitri Kesari, a deputy Ron Paul 2012 campaign manager, gave Sorenson's wife a $25,000 check from the account of his own wife's jewelry store. The campaign also prepared to make a $25,000 wire transfer to Sorenson but scratched it after Fox News journalist Megyn Kelly questioned Sorenson on-air about allegations that he was paid by the Rand Paul camp for his support one day after the switch. Sorenson replied that he was "absolutely not" offered money and that expenditure reports filed with the Federal Election Commission would prove him right. That public denial of payments forced the Paul campaign operatives to find another way to get Sorenson money off-the-books that would not appear in an FEC report, according to prosecutors.

 "They cared more about winning than they did following the law or even the values of their own candidate," DOJ prosecutor Richard Pilger said during his opening statement at the trial yesterday, where Kesari and Jesse Benton are on trial.

She really pushed Sorenson hard here, especially in the second half of the interview.

 


 -RW

Prosecutors in the Ron Paul Inc. Criminal Trial: "Follow the Money"

Opening argumnets were made Tuesday in the trial of Ron Paul Inc. operatives Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari.

Federal prosecutors told an Iowa jury today that former congressman Ron Paul will be called as a witness, reports David Weigel.

"Ron Paul wanted his campaign to be about ideas," said Richard Pilger, an attorney for the Justice Department. "He hated the idea of endorsements. He'll tell you that in his career, he only sought one endorsement -- from Nolan Ryan."

"Follow the money, ladies and gentlemen," said Pilger, "and you will be able to see the conspiracy in black and white."

Benton's defense is apparently going to be that he was confused the days he met with the FBI and allegedly lied to them, and the documents that implicate Benton were "hastily" put together,

Weigel reports:

Benton's attorney Meena Sinfelt asked the jury to focus on the days that Benton met with FBI investigators, July 21 and 22, 2014. It was difficult for anyone to recall the circumstances of tax day, or another busy financial period. Benton, far from misleading investigators, had been misrepresented by documents and hastily written e-mails.

-RW

Opening Arguments Set to Begin in Ron Paul Inc. Operatives Trial

Jury selection finished Tuesday morning at Des Moines' federal courthouse in the trial for two former Ron Paul campaign operatives accused of illegally paying a former Iowa state senator for an endorsement ahead of the 2012 Iowa Republican caucus, reports the Des Moines Register.

One man, who was dismissed from the jury pool, told the judge, "I don't like politicians, politics or stuff like that." Later he told the judge, "You can't really trust politicians."

Another potential juror was seen by a Des Moines Register journalist having a conversation with Benton in the hallway outside the courtroom during a break shortly after 10:35 a.m. The juror declined to speak with a reporter as he left the courthouse after he was dismissed from the pool. Early in the selection process, the juror had told Chief District Judge John Jarvey that he farms in southeast Iowa and needed to return for the fall harvest.

Opening arguments in the case are expected to begin at 2 p.m. central time.

Megyn Kelly on Witness List at Ron Paul Inc. Operatives Trial

@daveweigel who is in Des Moines for the trial of Ron Paul Inc. operatives is reporting that FOX star  Megyn Kelly is on the prosecution's witness list along with Ron Paul. Ron Paul's daughter Lori Pyeatt. 

Also on the witness list is Ron Paul Inc. operative and Rand Paul chief strategist, Doug Stafford as well as Michelle Bachmann.

 -RW

UPDATE

Why Megyn Kelly is on the Ron Paul Inc. Operatives Trial Witness List

Ron Paul Inc. Operatives Trial Update

Court records show jury selection is expected to begin Tuesday morning in Des Moines in the case against Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari, reports the Chicago Tribune.

It Begins:The Trial of the Ron Paul Inc. Operatives

Jesse Benton, married to a granddaughter of Ron Paul, and Dimitri Kesari go on trial today in Des Moines, Iowa on criminal charges surrounding alleged under the table payments during the 2012 presidential race made to then-Iowa senator Kent Sorenson. The payments were alleged to have been made to induce him to switch his support to Ron Paul from Michelle Bachmann during that campaign.

Kesari is on trial for arranging the payments and Benton is on trial for lying to the FBI about the arrangement. Other charges against Benton and John Tate, another Ron Paul Inc. operative, were dropped on a technicality.

Ron Paul is expected to testify for the prosecution as is his daughter Lori Pyeatt, who was the treasurer of the campaign and is Benton's mother-in-law.

 -RW