The US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit ruled against former Republican campaign consultant Jesse R. Benton, sustaining Benton’s conviction for allegedly funneling $100,000 from a Russian businessman to his firm. Benton retained $75,000 of the amount for personal use and donated the remaining to former President Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign under his own name.
Benton appealed his 2022 conviction for soliciting and causing an illegal campaign contribution by a foreign national, effecting a conduit contribution, and causing false records to be filed with the FEC. He put forth the argument that his presidential pardon in 2020 consequent of a previous conviction for sending bribery to an Iowa politician prohibited prosecutors from highlighting his past wrongdoings. He used the Federal Rules of Evidence404(b) and 609 to support his argument that past criminal acts cannot be introduced for impeachment if a finding of innocence has been established, which he claimed the pardon demonstrated.
Countering Benton’s argument, the prosecution contended that the pardon did not expressly state Benton’s non-guilt, and the district court concurred. The appellate court gave credence to the arguments made by the lower court and the prosecution and attested to their stand that Benton’s pardon neither showed his rehabilitation nor non-guilt.
A few more assertions by Benton were either snubbed by the appellate court or neglected to be reviewed. It includes the arguments that the file of false records segment of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is unenforceable in prosecuting false records presented to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), the inappropriate use of Benton’s prior conviction at sentencing, and improper jury instructions.
Benton’s conviction concerns the alleged clandestine sourcing of $100,000 in foreign campaign donations through his consultancy, of which $25,000 was given to the Trump campaign in 2016. The funds came from Roman Vasilenko, a prominent Russian businessman, and were concealed from both the Trump campaign, and Trump himself. The funds were hidden with the help of a counterfeit invoice marked as “consulting services”. Subsequently, Benton made a $25,000 donation to the Trump campaign under his own name, causing the Trump campaign to unintentionally file misleading SEC filings citing Benton as the donor, as per the Department of Justice (DOJ). As per Federal law, donations from foreign entities or nationals for elections are not allowed.
In 2022, Benton received a conviction and was sentenced to 18-month imprisonment in 2023. Later, Benton pursued a motion for judgment of acquittal along with a motion for a new trial that was denied by the DC Circuit Court in January 2023. This led Benton to appeal against the DC Circuit ruling, leading to oral arguments being presented before the US Court of Appeals for the DC Circuit on February 12, 2024.
Election interference from foreign entities has gradually become a global concern, given the surge in allegations from different corners of the globe in a year when almost half of the world’s populace has taken part or will take part in an election. Alexander de Croo, Belgium Prime Minister claimed last week that Russia has attempted to meddle with the forthcoming EU parliamentary elections. In the same vein, the Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) disclosed in early April that Indian and Pakistani governments both made attempts to interfere in Canada’s federal election in 2021. Alongside, Russian President Vladimir Putin suggested in March that the US has attempted to influence Russia’s presidential elections in March. In 2021, US President Joe Biden imposed new sanctions on Russia for its purported interference in the US presidential elections in 2020.