GOP campaign aide convicted in Iowa gets prison for arranging Russian contribution to Trump

WASHINGTON – A longtime Republican political consultant was sentenced to 18 months in prison Friday after arranging for a Russian national to contribute illegally to former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign – the second time he’s been convicted of campaign violations.

Jesse Benton, 45, of Woodlands, Texas, had charged Russian national Roman Vasilenko $100,000 to have a picture taken with Trump on Sept. 22, 2016, at the Ritz Carlton in Philadelphia, according to court records.

Benton's company Titan Strategies pocketed $75,000 of the fee and passed along the remaining $25,000 as a contribution to Trump’s campaign committee, Trump Victory, and the Republican National Committee.

Trump Victory, the Trump campaign and RNC each unwittingly reported falsely to the Federal Election Commission that Benton made the contribution rather than Vasilenko, according to court records. Foreigners aren’t allowed to contribute to U.S. campaigns.

A federal jury convicted Benton in November of conspiracy with co-defendant Doug Wead, of making electoral contributions by foreign nationals, electoral contributions in the name of another person, and causing false records.

Benton has worked on numerous Republican campaigns, including for Kentucky Sens. Mitch McConnell in 2014 and Rand Paul in 2010, and former Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential bid in 2012. In 2016, Benton served as chief strategist for Great America PAC, a committee supporting Trump.

Benton had been convicted of similar federal charges of conspiracy, causing false records and causing false campaign expenditure reports in Iowa in 2016, associated with Ron Paul’s campaign.

Benton and John Tate were convicted of public corruption for paying Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson to switch his endorsement to then-U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, during his 2012 presidential campaign, days before the first-in-the-nation nominating event. Sorenson, an Indianola Republican, had been a supporter of U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn.

In that case, Benton was sentenced to probation and home confinement after pleading his career was over as a sole breadwinner for his wife and daughter in Texas.

Trump pardoned Benton and Tate before leaving office in 2021. While Tate and Benton were found guilty in a scheme to funnel $73,000 to Sorenson to switch his endorsement, "the reporting law violated was unclear and not well established at the time," the pardon statement said.

In the Russian contribution case, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden sentenced Benton to prison.

“Defendant’s conduct here was brazen, intentional and unrepentant,” prosecutors said in a sentencing memo.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Illegal Russian contribution to Trump campaign nets aids 18 months