Reply

GOP operative pardoned by Trump convicted funneling Rus fund

« Prev
1
Next »

the Scribe
Administrator

Posts: 24,131

GOP operative pardoned by Trump convicted funneling Rus fund Nov 20, 2022 2:08:01 GMT

Quote

Post by the Scribe on Nov 20, 2022 2:08:01 GMT

The Week
GOP operative pardoned by Trump convicted of funneling Russian money to Trump campaign
www.yahoo.com/news/gop-operative-pardoned-trump-convicted-044820477.html
Peter Weber, Senior editor
Thu, November 17, 2022 at 9:48 PM

Jesse Benton in 2012 Robert Daemmrich Photography Inc/Corbis via Getty Images

Jesse Benton, a former top aide to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), and former Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas), was convicted Thursday of helping a Russian citizen illegally funnel a political donation to former President Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. Benton, 44, purchased a $25,000 ticket to a September 2016 Republican National Committee event for Trump and gave the ticket to Russian multilevel marketer Roman Vasilenko. Vasilenko then gave Benton $100,000.
theweek.com/speedreads/447149/mitch-mcconnells-campaign-manager-quits-wake-iowa-ron-paul-scandal
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/17/benton-trump-russian-vasilenko-guilty/
theweek.com/donald-trump/1005120/feds-charge-2-gop-operatives-with-funneling-russians-money-to-trump-campaign

Elections "reflect the values and the priorities and the beliefs of American citizens," Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Parikh said at Benton's trial this week. "Jesse Benton by his actions did damage to those principles."

This is Benton's second conviction for campaign finance violations. In May 2016, he was found guilty of illegally facilitating the transfer of $73,000 to an Iowa state senator in exchange for endorsing Ron Paul during his 2012 presidential bid. Trump pardoned Benton in December 2020, soon before leaving office.
theweek.com/speedreads/957314/two-trumps-pardons-may-set-precedent-letting-trump-campaign-hook

Prosecutors indicted Benton and Doug Wead, a conservative evangelical pundit involved in multilevel marketing, in September 2021. Wead, who died later that year at age 75, was accused of connecting Vasilenko to Benton.
theweek.com/donald-trump/1005120/feds-charge-2-gop-operatives-with-funneling-russians-money-to-trump-campaign

Benton's lawyer, Brian Stolarz, argued during the trial that Vasilenko was just a self-promoter willing to pay to get photos of himself with celebrities, and he and Wead settled on Trump after looking into photo ops with Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, and Stephen Seagal, The Washington Post reports. "If Oprah was available," he said in his closing argument, "we wouldn't even be here." Stolarz said Vasilenko was interested in a photo with "the guy who used to be on The Apprentice," not a future president, and Trump appeared only briefly at the fundraiser and "just talked about polls."
www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/11/17/benton-trump-russian-vasilenko-guilty/
Prosecutors disputed the idea that Vasilenko wasn't interested in Trump's political cachet, noting he was running for a seat in Russia's parliament at the time, and his photo with Trump helped get him on Russian television. And Benton, they said, clearly should have known he was violating federal campaign finance laws after his 2016 conviction.

You may also like

Ivanka Trump skips her father's 2024 campaign launch despite reported pleading from Trump
theweek.com/ivanka-trump/1018484/ivanka-trump-skips-her-fathers-2024-campaign-launch-despite-reported-pleading
Russia has spent a 'substantial portion' of its advanced missiles to destroy Ukraine's energy grid
theweek.com/russo-ukrainian-war/1018524/russia-has-used-a-substantial-portion-of-its-precision-missiles-to
Outgoing Speaker Nancy Pelosi to step down as leader of the House Democrats
theweek.com/congress/1018537/outgoing-speaker-nancy-pelosi-to-step-down-as-leader-of-the-house-democrats

the Scribe
Administrator

Posts: 24,131

GOP operative pardoned by Trump convicted funneling Rus fund Nov 20, 2022 2:10:42 GMT

Quote

Post by the Scribe on Nov 20, 2022 2:10:42 GMT

Trump is a menace not only to himself but to the nation. But most sane people already knew that before 2016. Now we have a nation full of Trumps. This is what happens when a truly bad candidate takes over a political party through election shenanigans from the party itself, assistance through our enemies like the Russians, and a corrupt conservative media that spreads their nationalistic propaganda at the whim of their wealthy elite and corporate ownership. Before you scream collusion delusion go online and take a good look at what the Republican led bipartisan Senate Committee uncovered on that subject: A Collusion Reading Diary: What Did the Senate Intelligence Committee Find? (from LAWFARE)

The Committee's bipartisan Report unambiguously shows that members of the Trump Campaign cooperated with Russian efforts to get Trump elected. It recounts efforts by Trump and his team to obtain dirt on their opponent from operatives acting on behalf of the Russian government. It reveals the extraordinary lengths by which Trump and his associates actively sought to enable the Russian interference operation by amplifying its electoral impact and rewarding its perpetrators—even after being warned of its Russian origins. And it presents, for the first time, concerning evidence that the head of the Trump Campaign was directly connected to the Russian meddling through his communications with an individual found to be a Russian intelligence officer.

Then go online to Origins of the Overclass; the Powell Memorandum; and Building and Nurturing A Movement to see the HOW AND WHY modern American Conservatism came about. Every American needs to know what is going on in this country.

Last Edit: Nov 20, 2022 2:35:16 GMT by the Scribe

Reply

Quick Reply