In March, Politico described Jesse Benton’s hiring as chief strategist of Great America PAC, a pro-Trump super PAC, as “the latest indication that the super PAC … is developing into a serious organization — one looking to buttress Trump in the final stretch of the Republican primary and, potentially, the general election.”
Today a jury found Benton and two others guilty of a host of corruption and campaign finance violations related to their work on Ron Paul’s 2012 campaign, when they secretly funneled $73,000 to an Iowa state senator in exchange for switching his support from Michele Bachmann to Paul in the lead-up to the state’s caucus.
Specifically, the Des Moines Register reports:
Jurors found Benton:
• Guilty of conspiracy
• Guilty of causing false records
• Guilty of causing false campaign expenditure reporting
• Guilty of a false statements scheme
Quite an auspicious start to the general election for Donald Trump’s super PAC.