Why Hasn't Trump Been Arrested and Convicted for This Crime?
Republican political operative Jesse Benton was convicted in federal court of funneling $25,000 from a Russian businessman to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
DOJ: Political Consultant Sentenced for Scheme Involving Illegal Foreign Campaign Contribution to 2016 Presidential Campaign.
A Texas man was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for his role in funneling illegal foreign campaign contributions from a Russian national to a 2016 presidential campaign.
According to court documents, Jessie R. Benton, 45, of The Woodlands, schemed with another political advisor to funnel political contributions to a 2016 presidential campaign from a Russian national seeking to meet and take a picture with the presidential candidate.
According to court documents, Jessie R. Benton, 45, of The Woodlands, schemed with another political advisor to funnel political contributions to a 2016 presidential campaign from a Russian national seeking to meet and take a picture with the presidential candidate.
GOP operative sentenced in scheme to funnel Russian money to Trump campaign...
A Republican strategist was sentenced Friday to 18 months in prison for his role in helping funnel illegal foreign campaign contributions from a Russian national into former President Trump's 2016 campaign, per the Department of Justice
Jesse Benton, a longtime conservative operative, was convicted Thursday on six campaign finance charges stemming from his role in a scheme to help a Russian businessman get into an exclusive meeting with Donald Trump during the 2016 presidential campaign. https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/11/gop-operative-convicted-of-funneling-russian-money-to-trump-campaign/
GOP campaign consultant sentenced to 18 months for arranging Russian contribution to Trump campaign...
Jesse Benton had previously been convicted of similar federal charges in Iowa in 2016, but received probation in that case. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/17/jesse-benton-sentenced-campaign-violation-russian-trump/11282825002/
Jesse Benton had previously been convicted of similar federal charges in Iowa in 2016, but received probation in that case. https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2023/02/17/jesse-benton-sentenced-campaign-violation-russian-trump/11282825002/
Appeals court upholds conviction of GOP operative who steered Russian money to Trump camp
Jesse Benton played leading roles in the presidential campaigns of Ron and Rand Paul and worked briefly as Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager.
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of veteran Republican campaign operative Jesse Benton for steering an illegal Russian contribution to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Benton, who played leading roles in the presidential campaigns of Ron and Rand Paul and worked briefly as Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager, helped facilitate an improper $25,000 payment to the Trump camp and the Republican National Committee on behalf of Roman Vasilenko, a Russian national who had approached another GOP operative, Doug Wead, about his interest in meeting an American celebrity. When he was unable to get an audience with Oprah Winfrey, Steven Seagal or Jimmy Carter, the operative suggested Trump.
A federal appeals court on Friday upheld the conviction of veteran Republican campaign operative Jesse Benton for steering an illegal Russian contribution to Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign.
Benton — who was pardoned by Trump in 2020 for other campaign finance crimes in the final weeks of Trump’s term — was convicted by a jury in late 2022 of six felonies related to the contribution and falsified campaign finance records. U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, sentenced Benton to 18 months in prison, and records indicate he is due for release in June. Both Ron and Rand Paul — the former Texas representative and current Kentucky senator, respectively — wrote letters on Benton’s behalf at sentencing, decrying the impact that a jail sentence would have on his family.
In addition to his time working for Ron and Rand Paul, Benton managed McConnell’s 2014 reelection campaign in Kentucky, helping the Senate minority leader stave off a primary challenge from his right. But Benton but left his role before the general election amid an investigation into campaign finance violations unrelated to his work for McConnell.
In his appeal, Benton argued that the government improperly charged him under a 20-year-old statute criminalizing the falsification of records to the government, rather than under campaign finance laws. But the appeals court rejected the argument.
“The government is free to exercise its discretion to prosecute under either or both statutes,” wrote Judge Karen Henderson, a George H.W. Bush appointee to the court, for a unanimous three-judge panel. The panel’s other judges, Florence Pan and Bradley Garcia, are both appointees of President Joe Biden.
Notably, the judges also ruled that McFadden did not make a mistake when he ruled that prosecutors could introduce evidence of Benton’s pardoned conviction for his earlier crimes. Though the ruling became moot when Benton opted not to take the stand, he argued that it was nevertheless an error by McFadden.
The appeals court, however, rejected that argument as well, noting that prosecutors are permitted to introduce evidence of other “bad acts” in trial under certain circumstances. And while Trump’s pardon of Benton could be seen as an “act of grace” by the outgoing president, Trump did not claim that Benton was actually innocent of the charges 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 wrote.
“[T]he face of Benton’s pardon makes no mention of rehabilitation or innocence,” the judge continued. “Benton places great weight on the accompanying White House press release but it is likewise silent as to Benton’s rehabilitation or innocence.”
ENDLESS FAILURES... Remember What a Disaster the Economy Was When Trump was President... Massive Lines of Cars Waiting for a Box of Free Food... Largest Loss of Money on the Stock Market in History... A Million Americans Died from Trump's Coronavirus... TOTAL FAILURE DON
https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/the-relentless-failure-of-trump-era-republican-politics
Covid 19 Deaths were MUCH WORSE in Texas and Florida Than California... Failure of Republicans to Protect Americans...
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/coronavirus-deaths-u-s-map-shows-number-fatalities-compared-confirmed-n1166966
GOP House FAILS to Even Try To Do Anything to Make America Great. Nothing But Revenge... and That Doesn't Help You or Me At All...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/17/republicans-unleash-revenge-joe-biden-democrats
Big GOP Donors Reject Trump, as he launches 2024 Campaign...
https://www.thestreet.com/politics/big-gop-donors-reject-trump
Why Doesn't The GOP use the House of Representatives to ACTUALLY MAKE AMERICA GREAT? Endless Bogus Investigations Don't Do Anything to Make My Life Better... Or YOURS... What About INFLATION? Are They Going to DO ANYTHING? ANYTHING AT ALL? https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-donald-trump-business-9af868065b776b21f81fa73e7bafb97d
and on FaceBorg I Saw:
Visiting all 50 states is not on my bucket list (maybe it is now) but this is fun anyway! Studies show that out of 50 states, 8 is the average number most people have visited. Sadly, many never leave the state in which they were born. Put a
by all the states you have been to.
Put a
where you have lived. Passing through an airport counts--but flying over doesn't. The average is 8 for Americans.
PLEASE PLAY!
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona *
Arkansas *
California *
Colorado *
Connecticut *
Delaware *
Florida *
Georgia *
Hawaii *
Idaho *
Illinois *
Indiana *
Iowa *
Kansas *
Kentucky *
Louisiana
Maine *
Maryland *
Massachusetts *
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri *
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada *
New Hampshire *
New Jersey *
New Mexico *
New York *
North Carolina *
North Dakota
Ohio *
Oklahoma *
Oregon *
Pennsylvania *
Rhode Island *
South Carolina *
South Dakota
Tennessee *
Texas *
Utah *
Vermont *
Pennsylvania *
Virginia *
Washington *
West Virginia *
Wisconsin
Wyoming
I've lived in California, Maryland and Virginia... Traveled from Mexico to Canada on Highway 5, from Santa Clara to Maryland on Highway 80, from Maryland to San Jose on Highway 40 and from Key West to Canada on Highway 95. also a Rainbow Gathering in Idaho and Hawaii, Maine...
.jpg)
Here's an Art Show... MEMES!
Tucker Carlson - Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
Fox "News" fined $787.5 Million for Intentional Lying
Don't be a Sucker, Unplug Tucker
Impeach "Justice" Thomas
and on FaceBorg: Comments about Fox "News" being Fined $787.5 Million Dollars for Intentionally Lying:
OUTRAGEOUS!!!
No apology on FOX for willful misinformation. Just... 'some facts wrong' .... and 'continued commitment to highest journalistic standards! Shameful!
I was very disappointed. Do you think all of those texts that they had to bring out in the discovery process will make their way into the vision of those who watch Fox? Maybe somehow they will be exposed to that info on how Fox lied to them
... there is some modicum of pain inflicted with a $787 million settlement.... I like the precedent it sets for ALL the other lawsuits against them..... pretty soon, it could even add up to very painful expensive experience, lol...
Trial was Not even mentioned on Fox "News". Told a Trumper friend and she said they are the only ones who tell the truth!
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
When I hear DeSantis making comments like Disney can take a hike, I wonder if he has ever even stepped foot on the property! This is not just a factory that can pick up and move to Mexico like the Oreo factory. This place is huge! It's a city itself! This is 4 huge theme parks, 2 waterparks, 22 huge sprawling hotel resorts, acres and acres of wildlife refuge, 4 fire departments, solar plants, a recycling plant, a garbage complex, 2 LARGE bus maintenance facilities, 400 buses, Many many boats, a sky liner transport system, a monorail system, a power plant, several water and sewer facilities, a very large animal care facility for Animal Kingdom park where they care for all the animals, two train tracks with trains, all the backstage areas for the cast members and where all the magic is created out of the sight of guests. A tunnel under the Magic Kingdom. A whole area for other things like offices and all the small things like all the radios and cell phones issued to all the cast members. All the vehicles and places for all of them to be maintained and parked. The parking lot at the Magic Kingdom is larger than Disneyland in CA. Just the parking lot. The trams that take people from the parking lot for the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center that is across the lake from MK. And ALL of the parks and resorts have large parking lots. So large you need trams to take people from one side to the parks. All the carefully cultivated landscaping that costed a FORTUNE to create all over the 47 square mile complex. And I'm SURE I'm forgetting something. Disney World is not just a factory. It is a CITY. It's TWICE as large as Manhattan in NY and as big as San Francisco CA. It straddles a large portion of two counties. Disney World also owns 4 or 5 apartment complexes that the young people from overseas, who work for Disney World, rent from Disney to stay in. They are located just a few miles off of the 27,000 acre main Disney World complex. And about 5 miles away is an office area with high rise office buildings for Disney World in a community called Celebration. It's on the map. AND because Disney promised to keep 30% of their land as a wildlife refuge and it is starting to exceed that on the main complex, they purchased MORE land just a few miles away, not for the public, but JUST for wildlife to fulfill their promise to the state. ALL of the things I mentioned were built, and are owned and operated at DISNEY's EXPENSE and are on the Disney property! Disney has contributed to the roads around Disney World as a partner with FDOT (Florida DOT). They have funded countless local projects mostly focused on charities having to do with children. They have been a VERY good and responsible neighbor in this area! And they employ 72,000 cast members giving this area a good tax base and so many jobs! And that doesn't include all the businesses and contractors who do business in this area only because of Disney being here! All the off property hotels, restaurants, tourist trap retail stores, the bus companies etc. Without Disney the largest employer in Florida, my area would become a ghost town and our property values would plummet. That in turn would not be good for Florida. The man is a FOOL and an idiot. And I believe he is doing this just to make a name for himself and get attention.
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
Let’s take one example that McCarthy and Republicans are getting ready to propose: the imposition of “work requirements” for the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid for health insurance or food stamps to feed their families. If you’re looking for big government, work requirements are it.
This is just one way that the push to have government spend less money can wind up making government more punitive and intrusive in people’s lives.
Now, let’s consider some of the other things Republicans have been doing lately:
Making it illegal for women to get abortions in Republican-run states, including trying to ban minors from traveling to another state to get an abortion
Trying to stop women in every state from accessing medication abortions
Outlawing medical care for transgender youth that their parents want for them
Outlawing medical care for transgender adults
Banning drag performances
Banning websites Republican legislators don’t like
Banning books from schools and public libraries
Forbidding discussions of systemic racism in schools and universities
Banning diversity efforts in higher education
Attempting to make it illegal for fund managers to consider environmental, social and governance goals in some investment decisions
Making it unlawful for liberal cities in conservative states to pass their own laws according to their residents’ wishes
Going after individual companies that don’t toe the conservative line
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
Most of the street fentanyl in the U.S. is distributed by the Sinaloa cartel, which operates in every U.S. state and in 47 countries. This cartel used to be led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who began serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison in 2019 after Mexican authorities arrested him and extradited him to the U.S. Now four of his sons run it: Ovidio, Iván, Joaquín, and Alfredo, who are known as the “Chapitos.” DEA administrator Anne Milgram said they took their father’s “global drug trafficking empire” and “made it more ruthless, more violent, more deadly—and they used it to spread a new poison, fentanyl.”
According to the DEA official, the Chapitos started the manufacture and trafficking of street fentanyl and are behind the flood of it into the U.S. in the past 8 years. It is a global business. While illicit drugs used to be plant-based, newer ones like street fentanyl are made with synthetic chemicals. The cartels import the chemicals necessary to make fentanyl from China into Mexico and Guatemala. Then they manufacture the drug, distribute it in the U.S., and launder the money, much of it through cryptocurrency.
The appeals court, however, rejected that argument as well, noting that prosecutors are permitted to introduce evidence of other “bad acts” in trial under certain circumstances. And while Trump’s pardon of Benton could be seen as an “act of grace” by the outgoing president, Trump did not claim that Benton was actually innocent of the charges 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 wrote.
“[T]he face of Benton’s pardon makes no mention of rehabilitation or innocence,” the judge continued. “Benton places great weight on the accompanying White House press release but it is likewise silent as to Benton’s rehabilitation or innocence.”
WHAT DO THESE PEOPLE HAVE IN COMMON?
Jesse Benton=Guilty, Lev Parnas=Guilty, Igor Fruman=Guilty, Steve Bannon=Guilty, Nikolas Cruz=Guilty, John Lambert=Guilty, Roger Stone=Guilty, Paul Manafort=Guilty, Mike Flynn=Guilty, Michael Cohen=Guilty, Rick Gates=Guilty, George Papadopoulos=Guilty, Alexander Vanderzwaan=Guilty, Duncan Hunter=Guilty, Chris Collins=Guilty
and Over 900 QAnon Freaks Have Been Arrested for Storming the US Capitol on January 6th and FAILING to Overthrow The US Government and Crown Trump King...
ANSWER:
They are All TrumpNik® Swamp Creatures...
https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/the-relentless-failure-of-trump-era-republican-politics
Covid 19 Deaths were MUCH WORSE in Texas and Florida Than California... Failure of Republicans to Protect Americans...
https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/coronavirus-deaths-u-s-map-shows-number-fatalities-compared-confirmed-n1166966
GOP House FAILS to Even Try To Do Anything to Make America Great. Nothing But Revenge... and That Doesn't Help You or Me At All...
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/nov/17/republicans-unleash-revenge-joe-biden-democrats
Big GOP Donors Reject Trump, as he launches 2024 Campaign...
https://www.thestreet.com/politics/big-gop-donors-reject-trump
Why Doesn't The GOP use the House of Representatives to ACTUALLY MAKE AMERICA GREAT? Endless Bogus Investigations Don't Do Anything to Make My Life Better... Or YOURS... What About INFLATION? Are They Going to DO ANYTHING? ANYTHING AT ALL? https://apnews.com/article/biden-inflation-donald-trump-business-9af868065b776b21f81fa73e7bafb97d
and on FaceBorg I Saw:
Visiting all 50 states is not on my bucket list (maybe it is now) but this is fun anyway! Studies show that out of 50 states, 8 is the average number most people have visited. Sadly, many never leave the state in which they were born. Put a
by all the states you have been to. Put a
where you have lived. Passing through an airport counts--but flying over doesn't. The average is 8 for Americans. PLEASE PLAY!
Alabama
Alaska
Arizona *
Arkansas *
California *
Colorado *
Connecticut *
Delaware *
Florida *
Georgia *
Hawaii *
Idaho *
Illinois *
Indiana *
Iowa *
Kansas *
Kentucky *
Louisiana
Maine *
Maryland *
Massachusetts *
Michigan
Minnesota
Mississippi
Missouri *
Montana
Nebraska
Nevada *
New Hampshire *
New Jersey *
New Mexico *
New York *
North Carolina *
North Dakota
Ohio *
Oklahoma *
Oregon *
Pennsylvania *
Rhode Island *
South Carolina *
South Dakota
Tennessee *
Texas *
Utah *
Vermont *
Pennsylvania *
Virginia *
Washington *
West Virginia *
Wisconsin
Wyoming
I've lived in California, Maryland and Virginia... Traveled from Mexico to Canada on Highway 5, from Santa Clara to Maryland on Highway 80, from Maryland to San Jose on Highway 40 and from Key West to Canada on Highway 95. also a Rainbow Gathering in Idaho and Hawaii, Maine...
.jpg)
Here's an Art Show... MEMES!
Tucker Carlson - Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire
Fox "News" fined $787.5 Million for Intentional Lying
Don't be a Sucker, Unplug Tucker
Impeach "Justice" Thomas
and on FaceBorg: Comments about Fox "News" being Fined $787.5 Million Dollars for Intentionally Lying:
OUTRAGEOUS!!!
No apology on FOX for willful misinformation. Just... 'some facts wrong' .... and 'continued commitment to highest journalistic standards! Shameful!
I was very disappointed. Do you think all of those texts that they had to bring out in the discovery process will make their way into the vision of those who watch Fox? Maybe somehow they will be exposed to that info on how Fox lied to them
... there is some modicum of pain inflicted with a $787 million settlement.... I like the precedent it sets for ALL the other lawsuits against them..... pretty soon, it could even add up to very painful expensive experience, lol...
Trial was Not even mentioned on Fox "News". Told a Trumper friend and she said they are the only ones who tell the truth!
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
When I hear DeSantis making comments like Disney can take a hike, I wonder if he has ever even stepped foot on the property! This is not just a factory that can pick up and move to Mexico like the Oreo factory. This place is huge! It's a city itself! This is 4 huge theme parks, 2 waterparks, 22 huge sprawling hotel resorts, acres and acres of wildlife refuge, 4 fire departments, solar plants, a recycling plant, a garbage complex, 2 LARGE bus maintenance facilities, 400 buses, Many many boats, a sky liner transport system, a monorail system, a power plant, several water and sewer facilities, a very large animal care facility for Animal Kingdom park where they care for all the animals, two train tracks with trains, all the backstage areas for the cast members and where all the magic is created out of the sight of guests. A tunnel under the Magic Kingdom. A whole area for other things like offices and all the small things like all the radios and cell phones issued to all the cast members. All the vehicles and places for all of them to be maintained and parked. The parking lot at the Magic Kingdom is larger than Disneyland in CA. Just the parking lot. The trams that take people from the parking lot for the Magic Kingdom to the Ticket and Transportation Center that is across the lake from MK. And ALL of the parks and resorts have large parking lots. So large you need trams to take people from one side to the parks. All the carefully cultivated landscaping that costed a FORTUNE to create all over the 47 square mile complex. And I'm SURE I'm forgetting something. Disney World is not just a factory. It is a CITY. It's TWICE as large as Manhattan in NY and as big as San Francisco CA. It straddles a large portion of two counties. Disney World also owns 4 or 5 apartment complexes that the young people from overseas, who work for Disney World, rent from Disney to stay in. They are located just a few miles off of the 27,000 acre main Disney World complex. And about 5 miles away is an office area with high rise office buildings for Disney World in a community called Celebration. It's on the map. AND because Disney promised to keep 30% of their land as a wildlife refuge and it is starting to exceed that on the main complex, they purchased MORE land just a few miles away, not for the public, but JUST for wildlife to fulfill their promise to the state. ALL of the things I mentioned were built, and are owned and operated at DISNEY's EXPENSE and are on the Disney property! Disney has contributed to the roads around Disney World as a partner with FDOT (Florida DOT). They have funded countless local projects mostly focused on charities having to do with children. They have been a VERY good and responsible neighbor in this area! And they employ 72,000 cast members giving this area a good tax base and so many jobs! And that doesn't include all the businesses and contractors who do business in this area only because of Disney being here! All the off property hotels, restaurants, tourist trap retail stores, the bus companies etc. Without Disney the largest employer in Florida, my area would become a ghost town and our property values would plummet. That in turn would not be good for Florida. The man is a FOOL and an idiot. And I believe he is doing this just to make a name for himself and get attention.
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
Let’s take one example that McCarthy and Republicans are getting ready to propose: the imposition of “work requirements” for the tens of millions of Americans who rely on Medicaid for health insurance or food stamps to feed their families. If you’re looking for big government, work requirements are it.
This is just one way that the push to have government spend less money can wind up making government more punitive and intrusive in people’s lives.
Now, let’s consider some of the other things Republicans have been doing lately:
Making it illegal for women to get abortions in Republican-run states, including trying to ban minors from traveling to another state to get an abortion
Trying to stop women in every state from accessing medication abortions
Outlawing medical care for transgender youth that their parents want for them
Outlawing medical care for transgender adults
Banning drag performances
Banning websites Republican legislators don’t like
Banning books from schools and public libraries
Forbidding discussions of systemic racism in schools and universities
Banning diversity efforts in higher education
Attempting to make it illegal for fund managers to consider environmental, social and governance goals in some investment decisions
Making it unlawful for liberal cities in conservative states to pass their own laws according to their residents’ wishes
Going after individual companies that don’t toe the conservative line
~~~~~~ (~);-} ~~~~~~
Most of the street fentanyl in the U.S. is distributed by the Sinaloa cartel, which operates in every U.S. state and in 47 countries. This cartel used to be led by Joaquín “El Chapo” Guzmán, who began serving a life sentence in a U.S. prison in 2019 after Mexican authorities arrested him and extradited him to the U.S. Now four of his sons run it: Ovidio, Iván, Joaquín, and Alfredo, who are known as the “Chapitos.” DEA administrator Anne Milgram said they took their father’s “global drug trafficking empire” and “made it more ruthless, more violent, more deadly—and they used it to spread a new poison, fentanyl.”
According to the DEA official, the Chapitos started the manufacture and trafficking of street fentanyl and are behind the flood of it into the U.S. in the past 8 years. It is a global business. While illicit drugs used to be plant-based, newer ones like street fentanyl are made with synthetic chemicals. The cartels import the chemicals necessary to make fentanyl from China into Mexico and Guatemala. Then they manufacture the drug, distribute it in the U.S., and launder the money, much of it through cryptocurrency.
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