Longtime GOP Operative Loses Appeal Of Conviction For Steering Russian Donation To Trump’s 2016 Campaign

Politico reports:

A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of veteran Republican campaign operative Jesse Benton for steering an illegal Russian contribution to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.

Benton, who played leading roles in the presidential campaigns of Ron and Rand Paul and worked briefly as Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager, helped facilitate an improper $25,000 payment to the Trump camp and the Republican National Committee on behalf of Roman Vasilenko, a Russian national.

Benton then arranged for Vasilenko to attend a join Trump-RNC fundraiser in Philadelphia, where the Russian took a picture with the soon-to-be president. Vasilenko used the photos to burnish his reputation in Russia “including speaking on Russian TV about President-elect Trump and his attitudes toward Russia.”

Read the full article. Benton was convicted of six felonies and sentenced to 18 months in prison in 2022, with a release date scheduled for June 2024. Rachel Maddow’s 2022 report is below. Benton was Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign manager and then later was Mitch McConnell’s Senate campaign manager.

Trump also pardoned Benton and a co-conspirator for a *separate* bribery conviction involving the Ron Paul campaign—then his 2024 campaign hired the co-conspirator: https://t.co/ALbunzbmwn https://t.co/eNgNLLX8g6

— Roger Sollenberger (@SollenbergerRC) April 19, 2024