Undercover British reporters from The Telegraph approached the fundraising organizations of both Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump and his rival, Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton, with an illegal offer to contribute $2 million on behalf of an unnamed Chinese donor.
Guess who took the bait? That’s right, Donald Trump’s Great America PAC.
The reporters initiated the sting in early October 2016, after receiving information that individuals were concealing foreign donations to the U.S. Presidential election.
Hillary Clinton’s organizations did not respond to the overtures.
The reporters then received an email from disgraced consultant Jesse Benton with the subject line “From Eric Beach.” Benton left the Great America PAC in May 2016 after his conviction of election-related charges related to the Ron Paul Presidential campaign in 2012.
Benton is Ron Paul’s grandson-in-law. Eric Beach is co-chair of Donald Trump’s Great America PAC.
Jesse Benton recommended that the Chinese donor funnel the money through his company, Titan Consulting, LLC. Benton would invoice the Chinese donor for “appearances” and record the $2 million as a “large retainer.” Benton also said that the purported donor’s gift would be:
“…Whispered into Mr. Trump’s ear whenever your client feels it’s appropriate.”
After receiving the $2 million, the entire amount could then be split between two 501 (c) (4) organizations, which could then pass it on to the Great America PAC and possibly another, Eric Beach’s PAC Vision for America. In this way, the Chinese benefactor’s gift would be concealed. Benton told the undercover reporters on October 13 that Eric Beach had to be kept “deliberately ignorant” of the financial details.
Beach showed up at a Las Vegas debate-watching party sponsored by Great America PAC. He was recorded assuring the reporters that although their donation would be obscured, it would be “remembered,“ cautioning them not to “overdo it with the influence.”
The recording showed that Beach did indeed know the intricacies of the financial arrangements:
“…You’re going to get credit but your ‘non-disclosed’ [donation] is not disclosed. Not just for your benefit, but for everyone’s benefit. There’s no prohibition against what we’re doing, but you could argue that the letter of the law says that it is originating from a foreign source and even though it can legally go into a 501(c)(4) then it shouldn’t be done.”
When questioned, Great America PAC’s attorney stressed that Jesse Benton did not speak on behalf of the PAC, that Benton was not working on its behalf, and that the PAC did not solicit or accept foreign donations.
Benton is sticking to his story that he had a “business referral.”
Jesse Benton and Eric Beach were aware that contributions from foreign interests to U.S. elections are illegal. Not only did they attempt to obscure the source of the proposed donation, they also said that it would not go unnoticed by Donald Trump, thus using the promise of influence as a reward.
As late as last week, Trump accused Hillary Clinton of being controlled by foreign money.
See The Telegraph undercover video right here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kfRu5-nEDus
Featured Image: Screenshot Via YouTube Video.
