On Friday, a federal appeals court affirmed veteran Republican campaign operative Jesse Benton’s conviction for channeling an illegal Russian payment to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Benton, who played key roles in Ron and Rand Paul’s presidential campaigns and briefly served as Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager, helped facilitate an illegal $25,000 payment to the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee on behalf of Roman Vasilenko, a Russian national who had approached another GOP operative, Doug Wead, about meeting an American celebrity. When he couldn’t obtain an audience with Oprah Winfrey, Steven Seagal, or Jimmy Carter, the operative recommended Trump.
Benton then arranged for Vasilenko to attend a Trump-RNC fundraiser in Philadelphia, where the Russian got a photo with the future president. Vasilenko used the images to improve his image in Russia, “including speaking on Russian TV about President-elect Trump and his attitudes toward Russia.”
In late 2022, a jury found Benton guilty of six felonies related to contributions and fabricated campaign finance reports. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointment, sentenced Benton to 18 months in prison, setting his release date for June, according to documents. At Benton’s sentencing, former Texas Representative Ron Paul and current Kentucky Senator Rand Paul both sent letters on his behalf, expressing concern about the impact a jail sentence would have on his family.
In addition to his work for Ron and Rand Paul, Benton ran McConnell’s 2014 reelection campaign in Kentucky, assisting the Senate minority leader in fending off a primary challenge from the right. Benton, however, resigned his position before the general election due to an investigation into campaign finance crimes related to his work for McConnell.
In his appeal, Benton claimed that the government accused him unlawfully under 20-year-old legislation that criminalizes the manipulation of government documents rather than campaign financing rules. However, the appeals court dismissed the argument.
“The government is free to exercise its discretion to prosecute under either or both statutes,” said Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee to the court, in a majority three-judge panel. President Joe Biden appoints Florence Pan and Bradley Garcia as the panel’s other justices.
Notably, the judges determined that McFadden did not make a mistake when he allowed prosecutors to enter evidence of Benton’s pardoned conviction for prior crimes. Though the ruling became immaterial when Benton chose not to take the stand, he contended that it was still an error by McFadden.
The appeals court, on the other hand, rejected that argument, noting that prosecutors can include evidence of other “bad acts” in trial under certain conditions. And, while Trump’s pardon of Benton may be viewed as an “act of grace” by the outgoing president, Trump did not say that Benton was innocent of the allegations against him.
“Under the modern understanding of a presidential pardon’s effect, it ‘does not blot out guilt’ or create a factual fiction that conviction never occurred,” Henderson stated in his letter.
“[T]he face of Benton’s pardon makes no mention of rehabilitation or innocence,” the judge explained. “Benton places great weight on the accompanying White House press release, but it is likewise silent as to Benton’s rehabilitation or innocence.”
