Former Aides to Ron and Rand Paul Re-Indicted
A trio of former aides to former Rep. Rand Paul, R-Texas, and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul are not out of the woods yet on criminal charges related to Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign.
A grand jury in Des Moines, Iowa, re-indicted Jesse Benton, John Tate and Dimitri Kesari on conspiracy charges Thursday, according to The Associated Press . Benton was also issued a summons to appear in court on Dec. 2.
The charges come after Benton, Tate, and Kesari were acquitted on similar charges last month. Only Kesari was convicted on one count of filing false records.
A number of charges against the staffers had also been dismissed , after a judge ruled evidence had been improperly proffered to a grand jury.
The charges filed Thursday stem from the elder Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign, in which former state Sen. Kent Sorenson admitted to receiving $73,000 from Ron Paul’s presidential campaign in exchange for switching his endorsement from then-Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., to Paul.
Federal prosecutors allege the three individuals attempted to file false reports with the Federal Election Commission to cover up payments to Sorenson in exchange for his endorsement of Ron Paul.
Benton served as Paul’s campaign chairman in 2012, but has maintained his innocence. He went on to work for America’s Liberty PAC — a Rand Paul-aligned super PAC — but took leave from the organization when the first round of indictments were handed down.
Tate also worked for the same super PAC.
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