Former Iowa state senator pleads guilty in Ron Paul endorsement-for-pay scheme

[applegrove]

Former Iowa state senator pleads guilty in Ron Paul endorsement-for-pay scheme

By Matea Gold at the Washington Post

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/08/27/former-iowa-state-senator-pleads-guilty-in-ron-paul-endorsement-for-pay-scheme/

"SNIP.............................

A former Iowa state senator pleaded guilty Wednesday to concealing campaign expenditures and obstructing justice as part of an endorsement-for-pay scheme that roiled the Iowa Republican caucuses in 2012.

Kent Sorenson, of Milo, Iowa, admitted in federal district court that former Rep. Ron Paul’s presidential campaign secretly paid him $73,000 after he dramatically dropped his backing of Rep. Michele Bachmann in late 2011 and endorsed Paul’s White House bid, saying at the time that Bachmann was no longer a viable candidate.

A furious Bachmann charged then that Sorenson was being paid to flip his support to Paul -- an accusation that Sorenson, Paul and his campaign officials all denied.

But in court papers filed Wednesday, Sorenson acknowledged that he had been paid by both presidential campaigns.





...............................SNIP"

[alfredo]

1. Yes! I wonder if he has named names? Bachmann might have been doing the same.

[arthritisR_US]

2. How could this have happened? The right are

so very honest and upright.

[freshwest]

3. Say it ain't so! Ron Paul is a paragon of virtue, a saintly senior statesman!

Here's the icon if needed.

Perhaps the beatification of the Pauls will have to be delayed.

[alfredo]

6. The Imperial Wizard of the KKK will vouch for him.

[arthritisR_US]

26. Ron Paul cheats, well who would have thunk it? Hmm and

his son is a plagiarist cheat so it runs in the family...no surprises there

[alfredo]

34. Why are such dullards held in high esteem by the Republicans?

[alfredo]

5. +1

[Heather MC]

30. I doubt it, I bet he is the fallguy so this goes away quickly

[alfredo]

36. Even more reason to squeal.

[Jackpine Radical]

4. What I can't finger out

Is whether this will help or hurt Rand. Isn't corruptibility a prerequisite in Republicans?

[alfredo]

7. All prosecutions for misdeeds is a godless liberal plot against them.

[arthritisR_US]

27. In the RW world god loves the dirty. nt

[alfredo]

35. All sins against mankind are OK as long as the perp claims he is doing god's work.

[MADem]

8. I wonder if the Paulbots will continue to support him, and if they'll insist he was, in some way,

framed? Or will they dump him like a half cup of three day old coffee?

I ain't gonna visit their lairs to check it out!

[freshwest]

9. I doubt this bribe of $73K will make a dent in their support.

There were grumbles when Rand's dad sued the website they'd built to support him or pay him a million or whatever it was.

Mr. John Bircher himself went to Europe of all places to get his money for it. Proving money is above 'morality' for their holy cult.

They're still Libertarians, and respect the power of wealth more than people. It's their core philosophy, that all things and beings are commodities to buy and sell in their sacred free market, including our government.

The free market is their version of equality, and if you were robbed by crooks or by society, you had it coming. Perfect example of the triumph of their free market was American slavery. It just didn't feel to free to those who did their dirty work, but that's irrelevant. Fly that rebel flag with pride!



So long as they get their cut, nothing else matters, not law, not rights, nor philosophy. Tribalism is okay if they have their guns and their toys intact.

Everyone who want to regulate their pollution, theft and corruption is of no matter. Thus they have no philosophy, just a lust for wealth, no matter who gets hurt, in fact, that is in the bottom line, as those who are poor will work for even less. A big win for the bosses.

It's all about them. Yes, I am harsh, having had to deal with them IRL. They are self-righteous bullies and looters.

[Dont call me Shirley]

11. AMEN to your most excellent rant!

[freshwest]

14. Thank you! May I call you Leslie?

[Dont call me Shirley]

15. I adore him, absolutely adore him.

[MADem]

16. They are self-righteous bullies and looters.

Excellent turn of phrase, that!

[delete_bush]

19. Very well stated!

Many of my thoughts exactly.

I would add that IMO there are many Libertopians who aren't so much 'self-righteous bullies' but have a very linear way of thinking. Many of them have worked hard to attain what they 'have', and believe that if they can do it, anyone else can. A lot of engineers, for example, have such leanings. They just don't have the moxy to understand that society as a whole does not function like the market.

I really believe that if one were to create an economic model which showed, for example, the effect on GDP of poverty - that if $1.00 spent created a return of say $1.50 AND adds to their own net worth - they might expand their myopic views. Or not.

[arthritisR_US]

28. Poignant ....

"So long as they get their cut, nothing else matters, not law, not rights, nor philosophy. Tribalism is okay if they have their guns and their toys intact. "

[ut oh]

39. Maybe they'll say he was possessed or mind controlled

It was Charles Xavier's fault!!

[Dont call me Shirley]

10. Sniveling, bickering wrong-wingers. Keep fighting amongst yourselves.

Instead of pretending you can legislate for all the people of this country.

[freshwest]

17. Tell it!

[hue]

12. Pfffttt! This is nothing compared to what's happening in Wisconsin....

[kmlisle]

20. And don't forget Texas and Virginia and new jersey!

[rocktivity]

13. Yes, I remember it well

Des Moines Register: The turnabout is a major surprise with just six days remaining before Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses. Sorenson, in fact, appeared at a Bachmann event just this afternoon — a stop at the Pizza Ranch in his hometown of Indianola. Sorenson said little at the event, but appeared with Bachmann and clearly offered indications of support for her candidacy.

Fellow Bachmann campaign co-chairman Brad Zaun told reporters Sorenson had just returned from the dentist, and Sorenson himself said he was saying little because he was still numb and afraid he would drool on himself...

But hold on -- he says he TOLD Michele he was leaving. How can being "paid by both campaigns" a crime if he quit one and was hired by the other?

More


rocktivity

[47of74]

21. Pizza Ranch

Yuck.

[LiberalAndProud]

18. So it's illegal to take the money, but not illegal to pay the money?

While I have no sympathy for Kent and I think his fines and prison time will probably be minimal, why aren't Bachmann and Paul held accountable for the actions of their agents?

[malthaussen]

22. My question exactly.

Solicitation of prostitution should be a greater crime than prostitution.

-- Mal

[intaglio]

23. Remember Teapot Dome

Fall, the Secretary of the Interior was convicted of taking bribes whilst Sinclair and Doheny were exonerated of giving bribes to Fall.

[LiberalAndProud]

24. I can actually twist that to make sense.

If you don't take what I offer, there is no bribe.

If an official is willing to take bribes, maybe the who of the offering is inconsequential. Had it not been Bachmann and Paul, it could well have been someone else. Kent clearly had no compunction about who was proffering the bribe. For him it was only a question of how big was the bribe.

[arthritisR_US]

29. It's illegal on both ends and that is why the

investigation has continued and deepened.

[rickford66]

25. What particular laws was broken?

On the surface it's a paid endorsement. Is that illegal? Lot's of celebrities do ti. I see where the Paul campaign fudged what the payment was for. Is that it?

[Enthusiast]

31. You're defending this shit?

Ron and Rand Paul have not a shred of ethics between them.

[rickford66]

33. Whoa!

I'm not defending this shit. I'm asking what laws were broken? I didn't understand the situation. Is there a law against getting paid to work for or promote a candidate? What actually occurred? I agree that the Pauls are opportunists and hypocrites but I still haven't understood what laws were broken. I'm happy they were caught breaking them but what were they? Understand this, I'm not a Rand or Ron Paul fan. They deserve to be exposed.

[LiberalAndProud]

37. One could read the article to find out. It's not so much the deed as the coverup.

Sorenson wanted the payments kept secret because of Iowa Senate ethics rules that prohibit sitting senators from accepting payments from a political campaign, according to court papers.

Last year, when a state independent counsel was investigating allegations that Sorenson switched his endorsement for money, the state senator lied under oath that he had been paid by either campaign, the court filings said.

On Wednesday, 42-year-old Sorenson pleaded guilty to one count of causing a federal campaign committee to falsely report its expenditures and one count of obstruction of justice.

[rickford66]

38. Thanks

I've read rather quickly, apparently, a couple articles about this and didn't see the Iowa Senate ethics rule noted. These bozos never miss a chance to make money.

[Enthusiast]

32. This illustrates just how unethical Ron and Rand Paul are.

They have a lot of people fooled.