Kent Sorenson pleads guilty to accepting payments to switch support

[Deborah K]

As some have postulated, the Paul Inc. decision to use Ron Paul's candidacies to build a broad, longer-term base for Rand's eventual campaign may have been made as early as 2007 (or certainly, by post-2008). The whole bait and switch of post February 2012, where donations were still asked for the CAMPAIGN, was done to actually build up the infrastructure for the Paul Inc. machine for the years after. This in turn is similar to the mid 2008 scenario where funds were still raised or not spent for the CAMPAIGN, then converted into the early kiddy for Campaign for Liberty.

I don't mind the Paul team created CFL per se, or wanted to build the Paul machine long term. What stinks is the bait and switch---supporters should have been cleanly told in February 2008 that the campaign was really OVER, and then given a choice about having their campaign donations converted into launching CFL. Supporters should have been cleanly told in February 2012 that the campaign was really OVER, and then given a choice about having their campaign donations converted into launching Rand's run in 2015-2016. Diverting what was intended to be funds for a current campaign into early money for future endeavors discredits the Paul team, who apparently did not trust their own movement enough to level with them upfront about what they wanted to use the funds for.

+rep

 

[JK/SEA]

''let it not be said we did nothing'''

we tried..

we failed...

we learned..

we're still here..

the brush fires are still burning...

move on...keep fighting...we have to..

that is all..

 

[Deborah K]

''let it not be said we did nothing'''

we tried..

we failed...

we learned..

we're still here..

the brush fires are still burning...

move on...keep fighting...we have to..

that is all..

"The time has come to act.
May future generations look back on our work
and say that these were men and women who,
in a moment of great crisis, stood up
to the politicians, the opinion-molders,
and the establishment, and saved their country."

Congressman Ron Paul

 

[Galileo Galilei]

I'm not saying he's smart, but he may be in possession of evidence.

evidence of what! What evidence?

 

[kylejack]

evidence of what! What evidence?

Evidence that Jesse Benton was aware of the bribe.

What we know: Jesse had expressed his interest in recruiting Sorenson as a supporter. The intermediary had contacted the campaign with Sorenson's demands for money. Kesari (and possibly others) came through with the money.

So the questions are: What did Jesse know and when did he know it? What did the campaign treasurer know and when did she know it?

The answers to those questions may be in the sealed documents.

 

[Galileo Galilei]

Evidence that Jesse Benton was aware of the bribe.

What we know: Jesse had expressed his interest in recruiting Sorenson as a supporter. The intermediary had contacted the campaign with Sorenson's demands for money. Kesari (and possibly others) came through with the money.

So the questions are: What did Jesse know and when did he know it? What did the campaign treasurer know and when did she know it?

The answers to those questions may be in the sealed documents.

There was no bribe. It is not illegal for the Ron Paul campaign to hire someone for campaign services.

 

[kylejack]

There was no bribe. It is not illegal for the Ron Paul campaign to hire someone for campaign services.

As several articles have stated, the payment was illegal under Iowa law at the very least. Then there are the intricacies of the fact that it was laundered to make the payoff to consider.

I predict that you are going to have to eat crow before me.

 

[Galileo Galilei]

As several articles have stated, the payment was illegal under Iowa law at the very least. Then there are the intricacies of the fact that it was laundered to make the payoff to consider.

I predict that you are going to have to eat crow before me.

You are relying upon off-hand comments by young liberal journalists who have been duped by the calculations of devious federal prosecutors. There is no bribery here, otherwise the Bachmann campaign would have been charged with bribery.

 

[kylejack]

You are relying upon off-hand comments by young liberal journalists who have been duped by the calculations of devious federal prosecutors. There is no bribery here, otherwise the Bachmann campaign would have been charged with bribery.

Who says they won't? A former employee of the Bachmann campaign has filed an FEC complaint against the Bachmann campaign for this very reason. FEC is investigating.

 

[Carlybee]

As some have postulated, the Paul Inc. decision to use Ron Paul's candidacies to build a broad, longer-term base for Rand's eventual campaign may have been made as early as 2007 (or certainly, by post-2008). The whole bait and switch of post February 2012, where donations were still asked for the CAMPAIGN, was done to actually build up the infrastructure for the Paul Inc. machine for the years after. This in turn is similar to the mid 2008 scenario where funds were still raised or not spent for the CAMPAIGN, then converted into the early kiddy for Campaign for Liberty.

I don't mind the Paul team created CFL per se, or wanted to build the Paul machine long term. What stinks is the bait and switch---supporters should have been cleanly told in February 2008 that the campaign was really OVER, and then given a choice about having their campaign donations converted into launching CFL. Supporters should have been cleanly told in February 2012 that the campaign was really OVER, and then given a choice about having their campaign donations converted into launching Rand's run in 2015-2016. Diverting what was intended to be funds for a current campaign into early money for future endeavors discredits the Paul team, who apparently did not trust their own movement enough to level with them upfront about what they wanted to use the funds for.

That's pretty much the way a lot of us felt about it at the time. Especially too after learning what some of the salaries being paid amounted to. There were a lot of grass roots people donating money they really couldn't even afford to donate.

 

[Galileo Galilei]

Who says they won't? A former employee of the Bachmann campaign has filed an FEC complaint against the Bachmann campaign for this very reason. FEC is investigating.

Why would the Bachmann campaign tell the Feds they were out-bribed by the Paul campaign? Sounds really stupid to me, you'd have to really hate Jesse Benton to believe crap like that.

 

[kylejack]

Why would the Bachmann campaign tell the Feds they were out-bribed by the Paul campaign? Sounds really stupid to me, you'd have to really hate Jesse Benton to believe crap like that.

That's not what I said.

A disgruntled former employee of the Bachmann campaign filed a complaint with the FEC that the Bachmann campaign had paid for Sorenson's endorsement, which opened an FEC investigation, which is still ongoing. I believe Fusaro (a former Ron Paul campaign employee) filed the complaint against the Paul campaign.

 

[Galileo Galilei]

That's not what I said.

A disgruntled former employee of the Bachmann campaign filed a complaint with the FEC that the Bachmann campaign had paid for Sorenson's endorsement, which opened an FEC investigation, which is still ongoing. I believe Fusaro (a former Ron Paul campaign employee) filed the complaint against the Paul campaign.

Makes no sense, it is not illegal to hire people for a campaign to do endorsements.

 

[kylejack]

Makes no sense, it is not illegal to hire people for a campaign to do endorsements.

I believe it relates to in-kind contribution. If you pay someone to endorse you, you should list it on your FEC filing as such rather than lying to the FEC and pretending it was for video services.

 

[Galileo Galilei]

I believe it relates to in-kind contribution. If you pay someone to endorse you, you should list it on your FEC filing as such rather than lying to the FEC and pretending it was for video services.

That's true, but them the issue just becomes boring technical violations rather than real crimes.

 

[jjdoyle]

That's true, but them the issue just becomes boring technical violations rather than real crimes.

I would guess the prosecutors didn't offer Kent Sorenson a plea deal, so they could nail someone else with technical violations.
UNLESS, they are going to end up with the large majority of the remainder of campaign funds from Ron Paul 2012 because of those technical violations, as you are calling them.
Sorenson's lawyer used the word "others" to describe who Kent had done this with. Plural, not singular.

So, let's all hope that these "technical violations" don't waste more supporters' donations given to a campaign to elect Ron Paul, and instead for months were used to help Mitt Romney win the nomination.

 

[jmdrake]

We don't necessarily know that anyone did. It's possible that the DoJ had some evidence that MIGHT suggest bribery, and this guy was so frightened by the slightest prospect that he could end up in jail that he agreed to a plea bargain despite not actually being guilty. Alternatively, the DoJ might've had some evidence that he did something else (remember, this guy resigned from the IA Senate due to evidence of illegal dealings with Bachmann's campaign) and agreed to admit to this in exchange for the DoJ dropping investigation of the other matter.

Sounds like the wishful thinking that went into the whole "We're campaigning for a brokered convention" fiasco.

 

[orenbus]

http://www.ronpaulforums.com/showth...Case-Before-He-Resigned&p=5646891#post5646891
McConnell Campaign Manager Subpoenaed in Bribery Case Before He Resigned

 

[idiom]

Makes no sense, it is not illegal to hire people for a campaign to do endorsements.

Its bloody immoral though. Especially if you say you didn't pay the dude to endorse you.

 

[idiom]

For the people who don't get it....

Hands up if you are okay with your donation being used to secretly buy endorsements, even if done in a legal way?