GOP consultant sentenced for funneling Russian national campaign contribution in 2016
Max Thornberry
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A Republican political consultant was sentenced to 18 months in prison for funneling money from a Russian national to a presidential campaign in 2016.
Jesse Benton, a Texas man who has worked for prominent GOP legislators and has a history of campaign finance crimes, was sentenced on Friday, according to the Department of Justice. Benton was involved in a scheme that included another consultant and a Russian national who wanted to “meet and take a picture with the presidential candidate.”
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“Benton arranged for the Russian national — whose nationality Benton concealed from the campaign and the candidate — to attend a campaign fundraising event and to take a picture with the candidate,” the DOJ said in a release.
The DOJ did not announce which candidate or campaign Benton funneled the money to.
Because attending the campaign event and meeting with the candidate required making a contribution, Benton told the Russian national to wire $100,000 to his consulting firm, which would make the contribution. Foreign nationals are not allowed to make campaign contributions in any U.S. political contest.
Benton created a fake invoice for the transfer to hide the trail, claiming it was a payment for “consulting services,” according to the DOJ. Benton then contributed $25,000 to the presidential campaign and kept the remaining $75,000.
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To comply with federal laws, the campaign filed a report with the Federal Election Commission recording Benton’s contribution.
Last November, Benton was convicted of “conspiring to solicit and cause an illegal campaign contribution by a foreign national, effecting a conduit contribution, and causing false records to be filed with the FEC.”