Texas Rep. Ron Paul's campaign is pushing back against charges of nepotism leveled by a new study published by a political watchdog group.Jesse Benton Is A Bum
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) published a report report, titled “Family Affair,” outlining instances in which 248 members of Congress allegedly used their positions to benefit their families during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles.
The report highlighted the Paul family as one such example.
“There are, of course, members who stand out. Rep. Ron Paul’s campaign (R-TX) paid six relatives salaries or fees, the most of any member," the report read.
The report details payments made to Paul’s family members as well as reimbursements made to relatives. Paul is listed in the report’s key findings as the number four congressman who paid “the most money in salaries and fees to family members” ($304,599) and number two on the list of representatives “reimbursing family members the most money” ($47,421).
Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign chairman and grandson-in-law Jesse Benton, who is listed in the report (Page 306), responded to NBC News in a written statement that “this so-called report is a sad attempt by a group of beltway insiders trying to grab cheap headlines.”
A chilling new report from Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington shows that this member of Congress’s campaign committee and PAC paid out a total of $304,599 in salaries and $48,742 for services during the 2008 and 2010 election cycles to his daughter, daughter’s mother-in-law, brother, grandson, granddaughter [*PAUSES FOR BREATH*] another granddaughter and a grandson-in-law, making this Representative the most nepotistic member of Congress by volume of family members on the campaign dole. And that’s only from 2008 and 2010! Who is it!? Don’t forget to scribble down your guesses on the back of your unemployment check stubs!
Hooray, and the Oscar goes to Doctor Congressman Ron Paul. Now we know why Ron Paul is always running for president: So that his family members always have jobs, what a guy.
Jesse Benton is a greedy bum
Then it emerged that former Iowa Senator Kent Sorenson was allegedly bribed by the Ron Paul Campaign to endorse Ron Paul over Michelle Bachmann for the GOP White House nomination.
Former Iowa Senator Pleads Guilty to Accepting Money to Back Ron Paul
And, naturally, Jesse Benton knows absolutely nothing about this LOL
A former Iowa state senator has pleaded guilty to federal charges that he accepted money from the Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign to switch his endorsement from Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), who was also running for the GOP White House nomination.
Kent Sorenson, of Milo, Iowa, has been at the center of accusations that he was paid for his endorsement, first by the Bachmann campaign and then by the Paul campaign, in late 2011. Sorenson switched his endorsement at the last moment before the Iowa caucuses in the 2012 race, but vehemently denied he had been paid to do so.
Last year, OpenSecrets blog published emails alleged to be between Ron Paul campaign officials and representatives of Sorenson discussing Sorenson’s demands for payment. Later, audio recordings emerged in which Sorenson discussed how a Paul operative named Dimitri Kesari offered him a $25,000 check, written in the name of a jewelry shop owned by Kesari’s wife, to switch sides. Sorenson denied cashing the check but later admitted to an independent investigator from the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee that he had received payments from a company in Maryland.
Neither Lori Pyeatt, Ron Paul’s granddaughter and the treasurer of his 2012 presidential campaign, nor Jesse Benton, who was Paul’s campaign manager (and is now manager of Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign), had responded to requests for comment at the time this post was published.
Jesse Benton lyin' ass bum
It is good that Kent Sorenson finally accepted responsibility for his actions. It’s also unfortunate it took him so long to admit it. Sorenson could have saved himself and his family a lot of trouble if he had resigned from the Iowa Senate at any point before the ethics investigation was sent to a special investigator. Instead, Sorenson was defiant and somehow convinced himself he’d never get caught. He was wrong …Jesse Benton Douchebag
Even after Sorenson resigned from the state senate, he continued to deny any wrongdoing. Much like former Ron Paul campaign manager Jesse Benton is doing now …
And even though Jesse Benton is as pure as the driven snow and knew nothing (LOL), he still resigned from being Mitch McConnell's Campaign Manager amidst a Federal Probe. The mind boggling thing here is that anybody would actually want to hire him to manage anything at this point.
McConnell campaign manager Jesse Benton resigns, citing distraction of federal probe
Jesse Benton, the GOP political strategist spearheading Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s reelection bid, resigned from his post Friday amid a federal investigation involving a 2012 presidential campaign he ran.
Benton said in a statement that there had been “inaccurate press accounts and unsubstantiated media rumors about me and my role in past campaigns that are politically motivated, unfair and, most importantly, untrue.”
The resignation came two days after former Iowa state senator Kent Sorenson pleaded guilty to two federal charges, admitting that he accepted thousands of dollars in concealed payments from the 2012 presidential campaigns of Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and former congressman Ron Paul (R-Tex.) to secure his endorsement.
Benton is married to Paul’s granddaughter and served as chairman of the former congressman’s 2012 presidential campaign. It is unclear if he knew about payments made to Sorenson, but e-mails published last year indicate he was involved in efforts to get him to defect from the Bachmann campaign.Jesse Benton bullshit
