If you’ve never heard the name Jesse Benton, this Washington Post report on his criminal conviction yesterday might not seem especially notable. But don’t click away just yet, because Benton’s career trajectory is what makes this story amazing.
A Republican political strategist was convicted of illegally helping a Russian businessman contribute to Donald Trump’s presidential campaign in 2016. Jesse Benton, 44, was pardoned by Trump in 2020 for a different campaign finance crime, months before he was indicted again on six counts related to facilitating an illegal foreign campaign donation. He was found guilty Thursday on all six counts.
This is not a controversy about Donald Trump, his campaign, and their many Russian connections. To be sure, that is a controversy, but it’s not this controversy. In fact, as best as I can tell, it’s not even clear if the Trump campaign knew anything about the effort to funnel illegal Russian funds into its coffers.
Instead, what makes this story so notable is the political personalities behind it.
As a separate Washington Post report noted last year, Benton’s career trajectory is a sight to behold. It began in earnest 14 years ago, when the GOP operative worked on then-Rep. Ron Paul’s 2008 presidential campaign. Two years later, Benton took the next logical step and ran Rand Paul’s Senate campaign in Kentucky.
Two years after that, Benton went back to the other Paul, running the Texas congressman’s 2012 presidential campaign before agreeing to return to Kentucky in order run Sen. Mitch McConnell’s re-election campaign, all while preparing to run the younger Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign.
In 2013, however, a problem arose: Benton was caught up in a scandal involving an attempt to buy an endorsement. He was later indicted as part of the fiasco, but that didn’t stop a pro-Trump super PAC from hiring Benton anyway in March 2016.
Two months after getting the new gig, Benton was convicted, but he continued to do political work in 2016, including engaging in efforts to assist a Russian national who want to support Trump.








