Jesse Benton, a former campaign manager for Ron Paul, Rand Paul, and Mitch McConnell was found guilty of helping a Russian businessman contribute to Trump’s campaign.
The Washington Post reported, “The evidence at trial showed that Benton bought a $25,000 ticket to a September 2016 Republican National Committee (RNC) event on behalf of Roman Vasilenko, a Russian naval officer turned multilevel marketer. (Vasilenko is under investigation in Russia for allegedly running a pyramid scheme, according to the Kommersant newspaper; he could not be reached for comment.) The donation got Vasilenko a picture with Trump and entrance to a “business roundtable” with the future president.”
Trump pardoned Benton in 2020 for campaign finance crimes, but the federal government filed six new related charges and got a conviction.
The Media Never Talks About Russian Money Illegally Funding The Republican Party
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