Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 campaign is once again
In 2016, a jury convicted Tate for campaign finance crimes related to a bribery scheme in support of the 2012 presidential campaign of then-Rep. Ron Paul . Tate, a former top staffer to Paul, had worked the scheme alongside fellow Paul aides Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari, both of whom were also found guilty. Trump pardoned Tate and Benton in December 2020, but did not pardon Kesari.
The three staffers were eventually convicted on charges of conspiracy, obstruction, and making false statements to the Federal Election Commission. Of the three, however, only Kesari served prison time; Tate got six months’ house arrest and two years’ probation, as did Benton. Sorenson pleaded guilty two years before Tate’s conviction, admitting to falsifying campaign reports and obstructing justice. He was sentenced to 15 months in jail.