In 2012, Jesse Benton was one of the biggest rising stars in the Republican political consulting world. Having made his name working within the fringe-y, more libertarian wing of the party headed by then-Rep. Ron Paul, he helped get Paul’s son Rand Paul elected to the Senate in 2010. Then, in 2012, he made a significant jump — to running the campaign of Kentucky’s other senator, then-Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.
What has transpired since then is a stunning series of missteps and accusations that culminated in Benton being indicted Monday for the third time in six years. The alleged scheme: illegally funneling $25,000 from an unnamed Russian national to Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign effort.
Benton has already been convicted once, for working with two others to illegally buy an endorsement for the elder Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign. (That conviction came after most of a more far-reaching indictment was thrown out and resulted in an acquittal.) He received two years of probation and last year got a pardon from President Trump.
Benton did not respond to The Washington Post’s request for comment Monday night.
What’s particularly striking about the new indictment, though, is the timeline. Many of the episodes detailed in the indictment allegedly transpired shortly after Benton was convicted in 2016 — and even as he was being given a lenient sentence. What’s more, even as the alleged scheme was winding down, Benton was implicated in a media sting involving a similar potential scheme, in this case involving funneling money from China.
Here’s a quick timeline of it all.
2008: Benton works on Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.
2010: Benton runs Rand Paul’s successful Senate campaign, in which the younger Paul defeated a McConnell-backed candidate in the primary.
2012: Benton again works for Ron Paul’s presidential campaign.
September 2012: McConnell announces Benton will run his 2014 reelection campaign.
Aug. 6, 2013: A former Ron Paul campaign staffer, Dennis Fusaro, alleges an effort involving Benton to buy a key endorsement on the eve of the 2012 Iowa caucuses from state Sen. Kent Sorenson, who had previously backed erstwhile front-runner Michele Bachmann.
Aug. 8, 2013: A recording surfaces of Benton telling a conservative activist that he was “holdin’ my nose” working for McConnell but that it would benefit Rand Paul in a 2016 presidential run.
October 2013: Sorenson resigns after an investigation found he possibly violated ethics rules by taking money from entities tied to Bachmann and suggested the allegations involving Paul’s campaign were also serious.
Aug. 27, 2014: Sorenson pleads guilty to illegally accepting $73,000 in exchange for switching his endorsement and is later sentenced to 15 months in prison.
Aug. 29, 2014: Benton resigns from McConnell’s campaign amid the Sorenson conviction.
August 2015: Benton is indicted for the first time, alongside two other operatives.
October 2015: A judge dismisses four of the five charges. Benton is later acquitted on the remaining charge: making false statements.
November 2015: Benton is re-indicted on the dismissed charges.
March 2016: A pro-Trump super PAC, Great America PAC, hires Benton.
May 2016: Benton is convicted, along with the two others. The super PAC says he “has stepped back from his position” with it.
And here’s when things start to pick up, with charges from the new indictment below. Unrelated incidents are in bold italics.
Sept. 11, 2016: GOP consultant Douglas Wead, who was indicted alongside Benton on Monday, emails a translator to tell him that an unnamed Russian national could meet Trump when that Russian national visits the United States.
(Wead’s attorneys told The Post: “Doug Wead is a respected author and supporter of charitable causes. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges and will continue to respond appropriately in court.”)
Sept. 13, 2016: Benton sends an email to what appears to be the Republican National Committee about a “friend” who wants a photo with Trump. He asks for a list of events where that might be possible and how big a donation would be required.
Sept. 14, 2016: Benton tells the committee he would like to arrange the photo for a Sept. 22 event in Philadelphia and proceeds to arrange the details.
Sept. 15, 2016: Benton emails Wead his banking information with the subject line “Wire info for consulting services.” He adds, “I’ll get an invoice whenever appropriate.”
Sept. 16, 2016: Wead tells Benton to send the Russian national an invoice for “consulting work.”
Sept. 19, 2016: A bank account from the Russian national wires $49,000. Wead emails Benton afterward, telling him, “Jesse, it wouldn’t hurt to send the invoice anyway so they have it on his end.” Benton sends the invoice for $100,000 — the full amount that would ultimately be sent to Benton.
Sept. 20, 2016: Benton is given his sentence for his conviction, avoiding jail. He is ordered to serve two years of probation.
The same day, Wead texts Benton that the Russian national has arrived in the United States.
Sept. 22, 2016: The Russian national attends the event, where Wead takes a photograph of him and Trump.
Late September/October 2016: Benton repeatedly says he has paid a joint fundraising committee for the RNC and the Trump campaign the $25,000 but doesn’t initially do so.
Oct. 24, 2016: The Telegraph, a British newspaper, releases an investigation implicating Benton in an effort to funnel $2 million in funds from a supposed Chinese donor (whose emissaries were actually reporters) to benefit Trump’s campaign:
Mr. Benton proposed channeling the donation through his own company to mask its origin. It would then be passed on to two [501]C4s before being donated by them to the PAC, or simply used to fund projects the PAC had already planned.Mr. Benton said the $2 million, for which he would submit an invoice for “appearances” would “definitely allow us to spend two million more dollars on digital and television advertising for Trump.” The Chinese benefactor’s generosity would be “whispered into Mr. Trump’s ear.” He said he had previously helped US donors conceal donations.
The same day, a consultant emails Benton about the contribution for the Sept. 22 event, asking where it was and who it was from. Benton tells the consultant that he “bought the tickets and gifted them” to Wead and the Russian national, “so the money comes from me.” He says that he had forgotten to send it.
Oct. 26, 2016: Benton sends the consultant a credit card authorization. The consultant asks, “Is this one to be credited towards [the Russian national] or Doug?” Benton responds that it is the Russian national.
December 2016: Benton is accused of a probation violation stemming from the sting. His probation officer says he was only supposed to travel to Washington and come home the same day, but he instead went to New York to solicit the $2 million contribution.
Despite all of the above (excluding the information from the new indictment), Trump in December pardoned Benton and another man convicted in the Iowa scheme. The result is he could be the first man Trump pardoned to later be convicted again — and of something quite similar.
