GOP operatives charged with funneling $25,000 from Russian citizen to Trump campaign in 2016

 

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https://www.cnn.com/2021/09/20/politics/gop-operatives-charged-money-russian-citizen-trump/index.html

GOP operatives charged with funneling $25,000 from Russian citizen to Trump campaign in 2016

By Marshall Cohen, CNN

Updated 9:00 PM ET, Mon September 20, 2021

(CNN)The Justice Department on Monday charged two prominent Republican operatives who allegedly helped a Russian citizen illegally donate $25,000 to the Trump campaign in 2016.

Jesse Benton, 43, and Doug Wead, 75, were charged in a six-count indictment and made their first appearance in DC District Court. They're accused of conspiring to violate campaign finance laws, making an illegal foreign contribution and helping submit false records to the Federal Election Commission. Information about their defense attorneys wasn't immediately available.

Prosecutors said Benton and Wead funneled $25,000 from the unnamed Russian donor to the Trump Victory Committee, a joint fundraising venture between then-candidate Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee. The Russian then attended a September 2016 fundraiser in Philadelphia, where he met Trump and took photos with the future President.

There is no indication in the court filings that the case is connected to the special counsel investigation, which examined the many ties between Trump's 2016 campaign and Russia. The indictment says Trump's campaign wasn't aware that the money came from a foreign national.