Benton & Tate indicted again on same charges

New Indictment Revives Charges Against Ex-Ron Paul 2012 Aides - David Pitt, Talking Points Memo:

November 20, 2015 - "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....

"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....

"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."

Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/jesse-benton-jon-tate-dimitri-kesari-indicted
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Benton & Tate go free in Iowa bribery case

Adviser to Ron and Rand Paul found not guilty in bribery case - Yahoo News Joseph Ax, Reuters:

October 23, 2015 - "A former top adviser to 2012 Republican presidential candidate Ron Paul's campaign has been found not guilty in connection with an alleged bribery scheme to buy an Iowa state senator's endorsement.

"A jury in Iowa on Thursday cleared Jesse Benton, Paul's former campaign spokesman, of lying to the FBI about the alleged bribery, which came in advance of the 2012 Iowa caucuses in that year's presidential race....

"Benton, who is married to Paul's granddaughter, has worked with the [America's Liberty] Super PAC supporting Paul's son Rand as he seeks the Republican nomination for president for the November 2016 election.

"'I'm happy justice has been served', Rand Paul, a U.S. senator from Kentucky, said in a statement on Friday.

"Another former Ron Paul adviser, Dmitri Kesari, was convicted of causing the filing of a false campaign finance record but found not guilty of obstruction of justice. The jury could not agree on three other counts against Kesari.

"The case grew out of allegations that Benton, Kesari and another adviser, John Tate, bribed Iowa state Senator Kent Sorenson with $73,000 to switch his endorsement from then-U.S. Representative Michele Bachmann to Paul days before the 2012 Iowa Republican caucus....

"A federal judge threw out all charges against Tate ahead of the trial this month, as well as several other counts against Benton.

"Tate is the founder and president of America's Liberty PAC, the Super PAC supporting Rand Paul."

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/adviser-ron-rand-paul-found-not-guilty-bribery-201834005.html
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4 charges against Benton & Tate thrown out

Judge dismisses four of five charges against former Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell aide | Rand Paul | Kentucky.com - Sam Youngman, Lexington Herald-Leader:

October 9, 2015 - "A federal judge dismissed four of the five counts against Jesse Benton on Friday, ruling that the U.S. Department of Justice violated an agreement with the former aide to U.S. Sens. Rand Paul and Mitch McConnell by using his statements to obtain an indictment.

"Benton, who also was a longtime aide to former U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, resigned last year as campaign manager for McConnell's re-election campaign amid an investigation into allegations that Benton and others involved with Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign bribed an Iowa state senator to switch allegiances and then concealed the payments.

"Benton and another Republican operative, John Tate, took leaves of absence from leading Rand Paul's super PAC after they were indicted this summer.

"On Friday, Judge John A. Jarvey dismissed four counts — dealing with falsifying campaign documents and conspiracy — after Benton and Tate argued that the federal government used their statements against them in grand jury proceedings despite an agreement not to.

"A charge against Benton for allegedly lying to the FBI was not dismissed....

"Tate and GOP operative Dimitri Kesari were accused of bribing Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson with $78,000 to switch his endorsement from former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann's campaign to Ron Paul's in the final days of the 2012 Iowa caucuses."

Read more: http://www.kentucky.com/2015/10/09/4079804_judge-dismisses-four-of-five-charges.html?rh=1
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Google resists FBI 'fishing' in Benton's e-mails

Google Won’t Let the Government See the Emails of Rand Paul's Aides | Mother Jones - Russ Choma:

Aug. 19, 2015 - "In the summer of 2014, federal investigators began probing whether Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign had paid Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson for his endorsement. After Sorenson confessed, investigators focused on three other men, including current presidential candidate Rand Paul's nephew-in-law, Jesse Benton, whose email account supposedly contained evidence....

"FBI agents got a search warrant that entitled them to read the emails without Benton's cooperation. But the plan did not go smoothly. Benton has a Gmail account, and Google's policy is to notify users when their accounts have been hit with a search warrant. Benton's attorney, Roscoe Howard, promptly filed a motion to block the search warrant, alleging that it was improper, and Google stopped cooperating with the FBI.

"Two weeks ago, Benton and two other top Paul aides ... were indicted on federal charges, including conspiracy, campaign finance violations, and making false statements.... The FBI still hasn't gotten ahold of Benton's emails. Last week, a judge ruled that the FBI had a right to the emails, but once again, Benton resisted and Google agreed....

"'Frighteningly, the government still maintains that it has the right to trample Mr. Benton’s privacy rights and look through every single one of Mr. Benton’s emails, just as if his email account were a warehouse full of documents,' Howard wrote. 'The government’s statement underscores its true intent —to conduct a fishing expedition.'

"The government has now demanded that Google be held in contempt if the company doesn't immediately turn over the emails, and it has argued that Benton and his attorney can raise their concerns at trial if they don't like the way the search warrant was obtained....

"Hanni Fakhoury, a senior staff counsel with the Electronic Frontier Foundation, said courts have not yet settled the question of how specific or broad email search warrants should be.... 'This case is smack in the middle of the debate,' Fakhoury says. 'This is a very high-profile and dramatic example of it, because we're talking about half a million emails.'

"Howard, Benton's attorney, wrote in one filing that his client had cooperated fully with investigators and provided a 50,000-page list of all the emails in his account, which may contain as many as 500,000 emails. Howard argues that the government's search warrant is simply too broad, and that Benton's Gmail account contains both personal and political correspondence.

"Google has now officially joined the fight. Its lawyer, Guy Cook, told the court that the company will not turn over Benton's emails. 'Google cannot be held in contempt simply for allowing Mr. Benton to exercise his appellate rights and awaiting the district court’s ruling on the warrant’s validity,' Cook wrote. The company's position is that it will release emails only after the conflict over the search warrant has been resolved in court.

"A Google spokeswoman declined to discuss the case specifically but said the company won't comply with overly broad requests."

Read more: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2015/08/google-jumps-legal-fight-over-paul-aides
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Jesse Benton charged with bribery over 2011 case

Rand Paul 2016: Jesse Benton, Super PAC head, indicted in payment scheme - Politico - Kyle Cheney, Katie Glueck, & Manu Raju:

 August 5, 2015 - "A close confidant of Sen. Rand Paul was indicted Wednesday for an alleged conspiracy to bribe an Iowa state senator in 2011 to shift allegiances to Paul’s father, Ron, then a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

"Jesse Benton, a longtime aide to the younger Paul who’s now helming a super PAC supporting the Kentucky Republican’s 2016 presidential bid, faces charges of conspiracy, obstructing an investigation, submitting false campaign finance reports to the Federal Election Commission and making false statements to the FBI. Two other operatives, John Tate and Dimitrios Kesari, also face charges connected to the alleged payoff....

"'Senator Rand Paul is disappointed that the Obama justice department chose to release this just prior to the highly anticipated first Republican presidential debate,' said a campaign spokesman, who asked not to be identified. 'It certainly appears suspiciously timed and possibly, politically motivated. Additionally, these actions are from 2012 and have nothing to do with our campaign'....

"According to the Justice Department, the three operatives paid more than $70,000 — concealed as legitimate campaign expenditures — to then-state Sen. Kent Sorenson in order to shift his support from Rep. Michele Bachmann to the elder Paul. Sorenson made his switch public on Dec. 28, 2011, in Des Moines. The three operatives also coached Sorenson to lie when asked whether he was offered money for his support, according to the indictment....

"The super PAC Benton runs, America’s Liberty PAC, is one of three pro-Rand Paul presidential super PACs. The other two are Concerned American Voters, run by Jeff Frazee and Matt Kibbe, and Purple PAC, run by Ed Crane. America’s Liberty PAC, however, is the one super PAC that’s been sanctioned by the Paul campaign, and on its website it describes itself as the “only Super PAC endorsed by Senator Paul.”

"The fresh headlines of the scandal, which came one day before the first Republican debate, could impact not only Paul’s presidential ambitions, but also his reelection bid for his Senate seat. The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee on Wednesday blasted out a story on the indictment with the subject line 'Hey Rand, We’ll See You When You Drop Out Of The Presidential Race!'

"Benton, 37, had been a rising star in GOP politics and is a Paul family member. (He is married to Ron Paul’s granddaughter, who is Rand Paul’s niece.) With his deep ties to the libertarian movement, Benton has long had clout among the conservative grass roots."

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/08/rand-paul-2016-jesse-benton-super-pac-121034.html
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Ron Paul's Political Director Jesse Benton Quits Campaign for Liberty - Hit & Run : Reason.com

Ron Paul's Political Director Jesse Benton Quits Campaign for Liberty - Hit & Run : Reason.com, Brian Doherty:

September 11 - "Jesse Benton, Rep Ron Paul's controversial political director and the de facto guy in charge of the political end of the Ron Paul operation (though never officially the "campaign manager") has left the position in the larger Paul machine he held between the 2008 and 2012 runs, senior vice president of the Campaign for Liberty. (Benton also managed Rand Paul's winning Senate campaign in 2010 in the interim.)"

Benton said ... in his public resignation letter to Campaign for Liberty president, and Paul 2012's official campaign manager, John Tate: "After much soul searching, I have decided that my passion lies in direct electoral politics, and I plan to work on campaigns.... It is therefore with a heavy heart that I write to tell you that I will not rejoin Campaign for Liberty’s staff this fall....

"Benton is also married to Paul's granddaughter Valori Pyeatt."

Read more: http://reason.com/blog/2012/09/11/ron-pauls-political-director-jesse-bento
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GOP makes Ron Paul feel welcome at convention - News from USA TODAY

GOP makes Ron Paul feel welcome at convention - News from USA TODAY - Jackie Kucinich:

July 22, 2012 - "The Paul campaign and the Republican National Committee (RNC) have been working closely over the past few months to work out logistics in order to include the Texas congressman and his supporters in the August convention in Tampa.

“'They’ve just treated us like a friend and like a coalition,' said Jesse Benton, a spokesman for the Paul campaign. 'They have been honest brokers in working with us and treated us with respect.'

"Paul will hold a rally with supporters Aug. 26 at the University of South Florida’s Sun Dome — a venue convention planners helped him get.

“'We have worked closely with Congressman Paul to secure a location for this event,” said Kyle Downey, a spokesman for the GOP convention.'

"Planners have also kept Paul’s platform committee delegates in the loop as they begin the process of assembling that document."

Read more: http://tucsoncitizen.com/usa-today-news/2012/07/22/gop-makes-ron-paul-feel-welcome-at-convention-2/
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Ron Paul backers continue 2012 revolution

Ron Paul backers continue 2012 revolution - POLITICO.com - Emily Shultheis & Maggie Haberman:

May 19, 2012 - "In what amounts to public pleading with his passionate supporters, Paul’s campaign has made clear that he wants them to tamp down the rhetoric, and to be respectful of Mitt Romney at the national convention in August when Romney is crowned the GOP nominee. That isn’t sitting well with some Paulites....

"Since Paul effectively declared the end of his campaign, missives posted on the fan page DailyPaul.com have been brutal about Paul national campaign Chairman Jesse Benton, who declared, to some supporters’ disgust, that the retiring congressman simply can’t mathematically secure the GOP nomination. Benton has pleaded for “decorum” from Paul’s notoriously raucous backers....

“'Jesse acknowledges we have stealth Ron Paul supporters among the Romney delegates,' wrote one supporter on the DailyPaul.com, whose cyber-handle is Bob-45. 'He knows delegates can abstain or may even be unbound. This chops the legs off the Ron Paul campaign at a critical juncture. I no longer have any confidence in Jesse Benton; and, if Ron Paul keeps him after this, I will have lost a great deal of confidence in Ron Paul.'

"Adam Kokesh, a radio host and head of Veterans for Ron Paul, went further in a web video this week, first reported by BuzzFeed, in which he said, “It’s been extremely disappointing to see that the official campaign — Jesse Benton, John Tate — have failed to contest this with the Republican Party. We didn’t come here to play nice.'

"Kokesh, who the campaign was once close to but says it’s split from, urges Paulites to convince delegates to flip at the national convention.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/news/stories/0512/76505.html#ixzz1vKcyvRKb
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What Does Ron Paul Have Against Gary Johnson? - The Daily Beast

What Does Ron Paul Have Against Gary Johnson? - The Daily Beast - Ben Jacobs:

May 15, 2012 - "On a campaign conference call today, campaign spokesperson Jesse Benton said that Paul would not back Libertarian Party candidate Gary Johnson under any circumstances. This was the most definitive language used by Benton on a call laced with caveats. Benton said that Paul was 'not likely' to endorse Romney and was 'extremely unlikely' to back any third party candidate. But, when it came to Gary Johnson, the answer was a quick and simple no.

"Johnson may be the most ideologically similar candidate to Paul but there are major differences between the former New Mexico governor and the longtime Texas congressman. Johnson is far more rooted in modern libertarianism than Paul, who is many ways a candidate of what his biographer, Brian Doherty, calls the “Old Right.” While Johnson is pro gay marriage and pro-drug reform, Paul is still wedded to bugaboos about gold money and combines his laissez-faire economic approach with a streak of social conservatism."

Read more: http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2012/05/15/what-does-ron-paul-have-against-gary-johnson.html
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