Jesse Benton, Sen. Mitch "Missy" McConnell's (Koch-KY) campaign manager, resigned today after documents surfaced possibly linking Benton to a bribery scandal involving the political campaign of former Rep. (and Rand's daddy) Ron "Uncle Crazy" Paul in the Iowa caucuses in 2012:
As [former Rep. Ron] Paul's political director in 2012, Benton has been tied to the scandal that saw thousands of dollars exchanged for political endorsements prior to the 2012 presidential caucuses. On Wednesday, former Iowa state Senator Kent Sorenson pleaded guilty to charges in connection to receiving under-the-table payments for switching his backing from U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) to Paul. Sorenson then lied to investigators about the payments, according to the Department of Justice. Sorenson's guilty plea was accompanied by two documents, which could potentially implicate Benton, the Herald-Leader notes. [snip]
Benton was hired in 2012 by McConnell to head his 2014 reelection campaign, seeking to boost his credibility with libertarian factions of the Republican party. It was seen as a surprising move, one that has caused other troubles for the McConnell campaign. In 2013, a phone recording surfaced in which Benton said that he was holding his nose while working for McConnell and thinking of the long-term best interests of Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).Benton is also the grandson-in-law of Ron Paul. Crazy... er, cozy.
(Photo: Benton and McConnell. Actually, they both stink; vote for Alison Lundergan Grimes and contribute to her campaign here.)
