October 22, 201411 yr McConnell paid former campaign manager tied to bribery scandal nearly $100,000 after his role diminished and disappeared. By Joe Sonka Insider Louisville When Sen. Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager Jesse Benton abruptly resigned in late August amidst revelations of apparent ties to an Iowa bribery scandal, the campaign assured reporters that Benton had not been very involved with the campaign since that May’s primary. However, according to new a FEC filing, Benton was paid nearly $100,000 by McConnell’s committees in a two-month period this summer, including a payment the day before his resignation and several days afterward. Additionally, over this same period, Benton was paid more than three times that of Josh Holmes, who was supposedly the top official of the McConnell campaign during this time. Benton was paid $46,197 by McConnell’s campaign and $5,000 by his Bluegrass Committee on July 1, well after the May 20 primary, and another $15,000 on Aug. 4. On Aug. 28, a day after the scandal broke that detailed Benton’s involvement and one day before his resignation, McConnell’s campaign paid him an additional $11,100. On Sept. 2, the McConnell campaign paid Benton $10,000, and the next day McConnell’s Bluegrass Committee paid Benton another $5,000. During this same period, Holmes was paid $30,000. Additionally, the Republican Party of Kentucky paid Benton $15,000 in July and early August, and $5,000 on the day he resigned. Altogether, these committees paid him $112,297 over the two-month period. After news broke of Benton’s possible ties to the bribery of Iowa state Sen. Ken Sorenson during Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign for which he worked, McConnell’s campaign initially told Politico Benton’s role was limited since before the May primary, and that “The truth is that Josh Holmes has been doing the top job on McConnell’s campaign since April.” The Courier-Journal’s Joe Gerth at the time reported that Holmes was said to have run the campaign even prior to April. In a story by the Washington Examiner the week after Benton’s resignation, their sources in the campaign went a step further, saying Benton’s work for McConnell “was already done” after the May primary. Insider Louisville asked the McConnell campaign why Benton was paid this summer if his work was diminished — if not entirely done — but did not receive an immediate answer. Benton’s total payment by the McConnell campaign, his committees and the Republican Party of Kentucky for his work was nearly $560,000, a staggering amount for any campaign manager. For comparison’s sake, that approaches double the amount Mitt Romney’s and Barack Obama’s campaign managers were paid in the 2012 election, combined. When news broke on Monday that McConnell’s Bluegrass Committee paid Benton $5,000 after his resignation, Alison Lundergan Grimes’ campaign made a bold accusation, questioning whether that payment was “hush money.” Grimes’ deputy press secretary Sam Chiron provided Insider Louisville with the following statement: “We now know why Mitch McConnell has repeatedly stonewalled every single media question about his knowledge of the federal bribery scandal surrounding his former campaign chief. What we don’t know — and what Kentucky voters deserve an immediate explanation and account of — is why Mitch paid Jesse Benton more than $100,000 from his campaign and his leadership PAC when he was no longer running the campaign and they’d allegedly ‘moved on.’ What else could this possibly be besides hush money or a corrupt political payoff?” McConnell paid former campaign manager tied to bribery scandal nearly $100,000 after his role diminished and disappeared - Insider Louisville
October 22, 201411 yr Author Allegations of hush money, political payoff involving our senior senator and his former campaign manager Jesse Benton.
October 22, 201411 yr Author Dan ... get on the phone to Ken Starr and tell him we need a special prosecutor in the Bluegrass State.
October 22, 201411 yr Not saying that there is something fishy going on. But, when this originally broke a couple of months ago, when the media and others asked the McConnell people about this, they should have answered questions as well as making statement saying that as soon as they found out about him that they fired him. But they took the no comment route, which leaves people no choice but to guess what Is going on. Also, how can they justify paying him that much money? Over 1/2 million? When both Obama's and Romney's campaign managers in 2012 didn't even make half that much? And why pay him after he left? Shouldn't you not pay him anything after he was fired or left? It's not like he wasn't paid well.
October 22, 201411 yr Not saying that there is something fishy going on. But, when this originally broke a couple of months ago, when the media and others asked the McConnell people about this, they should have answered questions as well as making statement saying that as soon as they found out about him that they fired him. But they took the no comment route, which leaves people no choice but to guess what Is going on. Also, how can they justify paying him that much money? Over 1/2 million? When both Obama's and Romney's campaign managers in 2012 didn't even make half that much? And why pay him after he left? Shouldn't you not pay him anything after he was fired or left? It's not like he wasn't paid well. Which is just what Grimes has done this entire campaign.
October 23, 201411 yr Which is just what Grimes has done this entire campaign. So your saying that when a bribery scandal comes out and one of your people is involved, you won't comment? Come on! The best thing to do would be is make a comment(s) that I listed above. And again, why pay the guy after he left/was fired? You don't get anymore money when you leave.
October 23, 201411 yr So your saying that when a bribery scandal comes out and one of your people is involved, you won't comment? Come on! The best thing to do would be is make a comment(s) that I listed above. And again, why pay the guy after he left/was fired? You don't get anymore money when you leave. I'm just saying that he's following the same playbook that Grimes has followed her entire campaign. Funny I don't remember you questioning her motivation or judgement. :smug: Kind of like Ali would have been better served answering that whole who did you vote for thing, of course she has gotten a bunch of national publicity over that. I guess she and her campaign believe that ANY publicity is good publicity.
October 23, 201411 yr Lol! There is a huge difference in not answering questions about opinions on motivation or judgement Vs I bribery scandal . Not saying that Mitch did anything wrong, but many would think that he and his campaign would want to put out the fire before it starts.
October 23, 201411 yr Lol! There is a huge difference in not answering questions about opinions on motivation or judgement Vs I bribery scandal . Not saying that Mitch did anything wrong, but many would think that he and his campaign would want to put out the fire before it starts. That's fine. I'm not saying that Grimes is a vacuous empty suit without an original thought that will follow the party platform in lockstep but since she never answers questions how would we know.
October 23, 201411 yr Was he under some sort of contract and they were obligated to pay him? I would imagine they do work as independent contractors rather than as employees.
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