Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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ajax
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by ajax »

Legion wrote:
ajax wrote:If the reps don't earmark it, it all stays in Washington. I'd rather have all that money earmarked for the people of the states, rather than stay in the Feds hands. It's irresponsible not to earmark it. He did his duty.
Agree to disagree
Disagree to "Agree to disagree" :D

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LoveIsTruth
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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Legion wrote:
ajax wrote:If the reps don't earmark it, it all stays in Washington. I'd rather have all that money earmarked for the people of the states, rather than stay in the Feds hands. It's irresponsible not to earmark it. He did his duty.
Agree to disagree
When he says "Agree to disagree" it means he is wrong and ran out of logical reasons to support his mistake. Good points AJ

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LoveIsTruth
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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Legion wrote:He knew the bills were going to pass (despite his single vote against)....and he's gotten more than his share of the proceeds (one of the top pork kings).

He knew the robbery was happening...said hey guys I'm against this...but I want a good portion of the loot so I can continue to get re-elected year after year.
I am sure Washington stole much more from Paul's constituents than Paul was able to bring back. Probably hundreds of times more. So you are wrong again.

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Jason
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by Jason »

LoveIsTruth wrote:
Legion wrote:He knew the bills were going to pass (despite his single vote against)....and he's gotten more than his share of the proceeds (one of the top pork kings).

He knew the robbery was happening...said hey guys I'm against this...but I want a good portion of the loot so I can continue to get re-elected year after year.
I am sure Washington stole much more from Paul's constituents than Paul was able to bring back. Probably hundreds of times more. So you are wrong again.
Listen to yourself...

Why is gambling wrong?


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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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SempiternalHarbinger wrote: May 16th, 2011, 11:55 am
sbsion wrote:it's not a matter of being wise, it's a matter of TRUTH,!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! somewhere, he doesn't "jive", you're either "uninformed", stupid, or paid off not to understand 9-11, he is not stupid or uninformed!!!
Your right. He is not stupid or uninformed. sbsion, Ron Paul supports a new investigation into 9-11. Didn't you know this? He just wont do a thing do bring one about. He says just enough to appease his supporters while he does nothing while our Constitution gets shredded to pieces! Ron Paul is not going to be bringing any troops home by blaming Osama. Also, Ron Paul has been awfully silent about our unconstitutional president. In fact, for someone who knows so much about the Constitution it makes me wonder why he has not said one word about it, or taken a stand for the Constitution and we the people. What? Is he afraid to be link to the birther movement and be laughed at and mocked? Well, these days it seems like those who stand up for the Constitution are the ones being laughed at.
I keep seeing references to Ron Paul, and thought I would go through this old thread and bump up a bunch of quotes that I like, which point to the fact that Ron Paul is just another compromised, controlled-opposition guy!
;)

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by Sarah »

SempiternalHarbinger wrote: May 16th, 2011, 1:03 pm
Convincing everyone that 9-11 was an inside job, and that Obama is an illegal alien (however true that is) will not solve the core problems facing this country. That core problem is lack of understanding by the people about the proper role of government (which is to protect liberty i.e. private property) and nothing more.
What is Ron Paul’s Job? What is his oath to God? To educate? No.To teach principals? No. Its to defend and protect the Constitution against all enemies foreign and domestic. Solving 9-11 wont solve the problem? Maybe not, but it would be a great start! We could end all the war were in and be able to bring our troops home from all over the world, we could end homeland security, and we could abolish the Patriot Act. ALL in violation of the Constitution. Proving Obama eligibility will not solve the core problems facing this country? Maybe not. But least we are upholding the constitution. It would also be a huge wakeup call to the American people about those we elect to represent us. We would also be able to overturn every single bill Obama has signed as President because he was not qualified to do so including Obama Care. Yes, we are uninformed, and that is one of the core problems. But you can also add to that those who we elect. Not holding them accountable. They can lie all they want because they know they can get away with it. Do you think Obama would have ever run for President if he knew people were going to hold him accountable? Heck no. Because he knows he is not even qualified! He knew he had all the big banks and corporation backing him and he was going to walk right into the white house without anyone saying a word about him being unconstitutionally ineligible. Including Ron Paul. Ron Paul’s job is not to educate, It is not to protect our liberties or property. That’s is the Constitutions Job. And Its his job to preserve and protect it. He swore an oath to God he would do that but he remains silent while it gets trampled on! But at least he’s educating. Another core problem we have are these lifelong politicians who have been compromised for money. If you ask me we need to get rid of and vote every single incumbent out of office. Including Ron Paul. They all have to go! That's another place we can start.
So while it is important to expose the lies and conspiracies surrounding 9-11 and our lying illegal alien president, these are not the most important issues. If tomorrow everyone knew 9-11 was in inside job, and also deported Obama, not a thing would change in our march towards socialism, unless people embrace just such principles as Ron Paul preaches. So his primary focus is correct. The rest is (though important), still secondary. Priorities my friend, priorities!
Exposing lies and standing up for the Constitution is a heck of allot more than just talking about it. You say nothing would change be letting the truth known?? We will never get back the pieces of the Constitution that has resulted from these lies and they are not exposed.. Why did Moroni tell us in Ether 8 why he expose and tell us about the secret combination? So that evil may be done away with. Continue to believe that just talking about certain things is both supporting the Constitution and being a true patriot. Priorities? What are Ron Paul's Priorities? His priorities clearly not preserve and protect the Constitution. Not be silent fearing his political career. You all Ron Paul supporters are fine with his silence. I am not however. I need a leader who is willing to give his life as am I for the Constitution! Priorities? Are we seriously talking about Ron Paul's Priorities? Well its obvious that we think his priorities should be in two different areas. I believe the Constitution is the law of the land. Once I give up on that basic premise, America is no longer a free nation, we no longer have the potential of pulling ourself up out of the lawlessness it has embraced and rediscovering all that made us great and different. Does the rule of law and the constitution mean anything anyone anymore? Our REAL FOCUS needs to be on the rule of law. ALL our representative have failed us. NOT ONE person has stood up against this dictatorship. Including Ron Paul.
:)

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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Jason wrote: June 22nd, 2011, 12:46 pm
7cylon7 wrote:The next line would go something like this..... Ron Paul was murdered for introducing an executive order 11110 that allowed the US treasury to again print its own money thereby making the FED impotent. Abraham Lincoln and JFK meet the same fate over the same issue.

May God preserve Ron Paul from all evil machinations. I support Ron Paul.
I doubt it. If Ron Paul got in.....not much would change.
On 10 April 2006, a DC-9 jet landed in the port city of Ciudad del Carmen, on the Gulf of Mexico, as the sun was setting. Mexican soldiers, waiting to intercept it, found 128 cases packed with 5.7 tons of cocaine, valued at $100m. But something else – more important and far-reaching – was discovered in the paper trail behind the purchase of the plane by the Sinaloa narco-trafficking cartel.

During a 22-month investigation by agents from the US Drug Enforcement Administration, the Internal Revenue Service and others, it emerged that the cocaine smugglers had bought the plane with money they had laundered through one of the biggest banks in the United States: Wachovia, now part of the giant Wells Fargo.

The authorities uncovered billions of dollars in wire transfers, traveller's cheques and cash shipments through Mexican exchanges into Wachovia accounts. Wachovia was put under immediate investigation for failing to maintain an effective anti-money laundering programme. Of special significance was that the period concerned began in 2004, which coincided with the first escalation of violence along the US-Mexico border that ignited the current drugs war.

Criminal proceedings were brought against Wachovia, though not against any individual, but the case never came to court. In March 2010, Wachovia settled the biggest action brought under the US bank secrecy act, through the US district court in Miami. Now that the year's "deferred prosecution" has expired, the bank is in effect in the clear. It paid federal authorities $110m in forfeiture, for allowing transactions later proved to be connected to drug smuggling, and incurred a $50m fine for failing to monitor cash used to ship 22 tons of cocaine.

More shocking, and more important, the bank was sanctioned for failing to apply the proper anti-laundering strictures to the transfer of $378.4bn – a sum equivalent to one-third of Mexico's gross national product – into dollar accounts from so-called casas de cambio (CDCs) in Mexico, currency exchange houses with which the bank did business.

"Wachovia's blatant disregard for our banking laws gave international cocaine cartels a virtual carte blanche to finance their operations," said Jeffrey Sloman, the federal prosecutor. Yet the total fine was less than 2% of the bank's $12.3bn profit for 2009. On 24 March 2010, Wells Fargo stock traded at $30.86 – up 1% on the week of the court settlement.

The conclusion to the case was only the tip of an iceberg, demonstrating the role of the "legal" banking sector in swilling hundreds of billions of dollars – the blood money from the murderous drug trade in Mexico and other places in the world – around their global operations, now bailed out by the taxpayer.

At the height of the 2008 banking crisis, Antonio Maria Costa, then head of the United Nations office on drugs and crime, said he had evidence to suggest the proceeds from drugs and crime were "the only liquid investment capital" available to banks on the brink of collapse. "Inter-bank loans were funded by money that originated from the drugs trade," he said. "There were signs that some banks were rescued that way."

Wachovia was acquired by Wells Fargo during the 2008 crash, just as Wells Fargo became a beneficiary of $25bn in taxpayers' money.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/ap ... drug-gangs" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...Ron Paul is a top ranking member of the House Banking Committee -
The United States House Committee on Financial Services (also referred to as the House Banking Committee) is the committee of the United States House of Representatives that oversees the entire financial services industry, including the securities, insurance, banking, and housing industries. The Committee also oversees the work of the Federal Reserve, the United States Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, and other financial services regulators.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Sta ... l_Services" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...ever hear a peep out of him about this???
:)

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by Sarah »

Jason wrote: June 27th, 2011, 10:43 am
iamse7en wrote:Yeah RP has swindled Joel Skousen too. I wonder when Joel will wake up and realize that RP is like all the others: he has no principle. Instead, we should be promoting Straussian neocons like Alan Keyes!
LOL...to each their own! If you want to audit every member of the Boy Scouts of America.....more power to you! And while we wait for the audit that will never happen....the banks can continue to launder billions in drug smuggling proceeds....with nary a statement from the great Ron Paul who is a senior member of the House Banking Committee!
:)

tribrac
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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I'm starting to suspect Sarah is compromised and part of the controlled opposition.

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by Sarah »

tribrac wrote: March 8th, 2022, 5:20 pm I'm starting to suspect Sarah is compromised and part of the controlled opposition.
Too bad no one is paying me to post all the time. That would be a fun job :lol:

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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I wasn't able to quote this post, but it's by Jason...(good points!)


4.05 - "What do you say to people who advocate for self government, rather than a return to the Constitution?"

Ron Paul: "Great. Fine. That is really what my goal is."

Ron Paul continued....

.40 - "I'd choose to run for Congress before I'd choose to take on the IRS"

.45 - "in a lot of ways I'm chicken"

1.00 - "Look at these poor guys who have fought the IRS....they're a 100% right and a 100% of the time they go to jail...you know I'm not going to do anybody any good if I'm in jail."

1.35 - "You know there's a lot more talk of secession and state's rights and getting the fed out of our lives"

2.41 - "Some day you have to make a decision where you come down on violence or not...but I don't think it will be necessary...I see the revolution as being philosophic"

How do you get the fed out of our lives while running from the IRS when priority number 1 is staying out of jail?

Why the desire to supposedly take on the Fed but run from the IRS?

Who's the "fed" that he's trying to get out of our lives while discussing secession and state's rights? Is it federal reserve or federal government? What's his real goal???

Yeah he's a George Washington alright.....NOT!

Ron Paul has 3 major themes going right now:

End the Mandate - which is repeal ObamaCare's mandate forcing Americans to carry government-approved insurance – a requirement that will be enforced by our old pals at the IRS. It sounds good but Ron Paul had an opportunity to really make a dent in it (along with the rest of the tea party Republicans voted in) by defunding it rather than trying to completely reverse it. Without funding it would simply die. Instead as Semp has pointed out multiple times....they switched from defunding to repeal which they knew wouldn't work.

Congressman Ron Paul told CNN that though the vote is largely symbolic, "it sends a strong message because [repeal] represents what people are saying."

http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=40312" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....but now he's back to promising to defund instead of repeal....

At the end of his statement on Obamacare’s support for birth control, Paul said that “as President, I plan to defund Obamacare and all federal programs that use tax money taken from the American people to promote abortion.” “I pledge also to veto any bill with funding for Planned Parenthood or any other international family planning regimes,” Paul added.

http://www.thestatecolumn.com/articles/ ... president/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;


Audit the Fed -The Federal Reserve is audited every year by the GAO. This was brought to my attention by Walter Burien (who has been fighting the good fight for a number of years and getting information out about the truth of government finances via CAFR) via the following comments (via email - sorry no link) -

Hear a lot of talk about "Audit the Federal Reserve"? Well, the Federal Reserve which is a private Association that has a listing of member banks has been audited since 1914 and the audit is signed off on by the US Treasury and GAO (General Accounting Office) each year. So I guess all of this talk about audit the Federal Reserve is NOT to audit the Federal Reserve but a push to audit of the members of the Federal Reserve. Just like the Boy Scouts that is an association and puts out an Annual Financial Report of The Boy Scouts of America. I wonder if we can get legislation passed to audit the million or so members of the Boy Scouts and their families? I guess the talk of "audit the Federal Reserve" has some catchy political value that captures the public's attention under the current financial condition of the United States. Here is the current audit of the Federal Reserve, their Annual Financial Report and back issues going back to 1914

.
http://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs ... ult.htm#ar" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

....to give an example of what Walter is trying to get out here is the following -

Last but not least we have the IRS (Internal Revenue Service). It appears from all views that the IRS is a private collection company given government cooperation and court and private police authority that is assigned by congress to collect debt from US Taxpayers and then transfer money collected to the US Government. GOA (General Accounting Office) audits the financial statements of the IRS and makes recommendations each year. The IRS is never referred to as an agency of the federal government; a department; or in any other term that would signify a government body. It is referred to on all occasions as an "entity" http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d10597.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; It is also noted that the IRS was not responsible to provide their financial document to the US Government prior to two decades ago. Again no government agency there could do that and operate as a government agency. Additionally the IRS completes two Annual Financial Reports (AFR). One for its debt collection activities for Congress and the other for its internal corporate structure. The first AFR of the IRS for its collection obligations for and to the US Congress can be found and I have the 1999 report linked below. The second AFR of the IRS it appears is kept under lock and key. To date I have not located it. Could the parent company of the IRS actually be established as a corporate "foreign" company? Very possible. They have registered branch offices in every State in the USA but the parent location of the IRS is not shown. The detailed "Corporate" structure of the IRS is listed here - http://www.irs.gov/irm/part1/irm_01-001-021.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 2008 GOA audit of the IRS (first version) - http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d09119.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

The 1999 GOA audit of the IRS (first version) - http://CAFR1.com/STATES/FEDERAL-GAO-AUD ... TS1999.pdf" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

...so basically all this talk about "auditing the fed" is a bunch of hogwash that will never happen (explaining why nothing has happened on it for the last decade)....and merely a Ron Paul talking point for the sheeple.


Repeal the Patriot Act - I support this one....but its gotten little traction....and if you believe the government on 9/11...then its probably a good thing. So why is Ron Paul anti 9/11 truthers and also anti Patriot Act??? Doesn't make a lot of sense does it.....unless its just another talking point that's really meaningless in the whole charade. Meanwhile the large banks continue to launder hundreds of billions of dollars of drug money proceeds all while Ron Paul sits as a senior member on the House Banking Committee.



....the media is afraid of Ron Paul about the same as they are Jesse Ventura.....getting all kinds of media time!!! How much media time did James "Bo" Gritz get? Gene "Chip" Tatum? Ted Gunderson? Pat Tillman? Charles Ruff? Vincent Foster? Jeremy Boorda? Gary Rhodes? Bill Tyree? Steve Kangas? Gary Webb? Barry Seal? Don McCoy? James Hatfield? and a million others etc....

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by Sarah »

Actually, what really gave Ron Paul away for me was when he didn't go after Trump for hounding the Fed to lower interest rates. I think he did say after the fact that he was against Trump's actions, but when it came to Trump, he was very careful not to be too critical.

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Jason
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

Post by Jason »

Ron Paul is a deceiver...

...reason he existed in the big house for multiple decades...and gets oodles and gobs of free mainstream media time (not much different than Trump)...

Ron Paul - The American Power Structure (1988)
The ultimate solution will only come with the rejection of fiat money worldwide, and a restoration of commodity money. Commodity money if voluntarily and universally accepted could give us a single world currency requiring no money managers, no manipulators orchestrating a man-made business cycle with rampant price inflation.
— Ron Paul, Congressional Record, March 13, 2001
...and one of the biggest...is Ron Paul's support for China and voting for them to have favored nation status every time it came up...even the vote within a month of the Tienanmen Square massacre in 1989...

...but he's not alone on that...but shows the globalist ties and efforts to build the satanic "model" for Agenda 2030...

The powers of financial capitalism had another far-reaching aim, nothing less than to create a world system of financial control in private hands able to dominate the political system of each country and the economy of the world as a whole.
- Carroll Quigley
There is only one thing in man’s world that can offer any check on the unlimited power of money—and that is government. That is why money always accuses government of trying to destroy free agency, when the great enslaver has always been money itself.
- Hugh Nibley

Ron Paul would rather see you fight the corporations on your own...by trying to sell you a bill of goods (you can protect yourself by removing the very tool [government] that protects you...rather than taking it back). Government is the one real leveraged threat the people have against those who would oppress them....which is why the private corporations spend so much money trying to co-opt and take control of the tool via lobbyists, direct cash, chicanery, voting machines, and whatever other methods they can utilize.

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madvin
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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"Ron Paul would rather see you fight the corporations on your own...by trying to sell you a bill of goods (you can protect yourself by removing the very tool [government] that protects you...rather than taking it back). Government is the one real leveraged threat the people have against those who would oppress them....which is why the private corporations spend so much money trying to co-opt and take control of the tool via lobbyists, direct cash, chicanery, voting machines, and whatever other methods they can utilize."

How is the government protecting you? They are in cahoots with big business. Based on results, the government and corporations are working together to take away liberties.
Taking government back will never happen without the Lord's help (establishing Zion).

"There is only one thing in man’s world that can offer any check on the unlimited power of money—and that is government. That is why money always accuses government of trying to destroy free agency, when the great enslaver has always been money itself."
- Hugh Nibley

Classic Hugh Nibley.

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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https://www.usnews.com/news/blogs/washi ... port-finds

Ron Paul One Of The Most Corrupt Members Of Congress, Report Finds

Rep. Ron Paul has been named among the most corrupt members of Congress, a new report has found.
By Elizabeth Flock
|
Sept. 12, 2012, at 1:03 p.m.

Texas Republican Rep. Ron Paul has been named one of the most corrupt members of Congress in a new report from the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

The report says Paul "double-billed" his travel expenses a number of times over the last decade, meaning he may have been reimbursed for the same flights both under his official allowance as congressman, and by either non-profit groups under his control or his campaign committee.

The revelation would be ironic in part because Paul made fiscal responsibility a central tenet of his 2012 presidential campaign. The congressman celebrated a major victory in July when his bill to audit the Federal Reserve for greater transparency passed the House.

Paul's possible double-billing has been in the public eye since Roll Call first reported it in February, but CREW says there is no evidence Paul has repaid the money since.

A request for comment from Paul's office was not immediately returned.

One of the most troubling cases of the congressman's possible double-billing revolves around reimbursements he received for flights from both his official allowance and the libertarian group the Liberty Committee. At that time, the Liberty Committee's finances were overseen by a relative of the Paul family.

"It's extremely disappointing," Liberty Committee President David James told Whispers of the double-billing.

James says he first noticed a red flag in 2004, after the committee asked Paul for copies of his travel tickets, and the congressman did not provide them. Paul stopped billing the committee shortly after they asked for the tickets, according to James. By 2005, James says he was aware of possible double-billing. But it wasn't until the Roll Call story that he saw how far the problem extended.

The committee conducted its own audit of Paul's finances shortly after the story, and found that 60 percent of the travel Paul had billed to the committee had been doubled-billed.

"We have contacted Congressman Paul to look at the records and repay the amount," James told Whispers. "But our last communication was not even responded to."

James said the committee parted ways with the congressman in 2006 for "a number of reasons."

The committee has not, however, stopped vocally supporting Paul.

James called his policies "just what this country needs." "The message is great," said James. "It's the messenger that is the problem."

Paul’s office says it declines to comment on the CREW report, and referred Whispers back to the comment given to Roll Call in February.

At the time, Paul’s spokesman Jesse Benton denied the congressman was reimbursed multiple times for the same trips, saying "absolutely zero taxpayer funds were ever misused." Benton also said it was "possible that wholly inadvertent errors were made in a handful of instances.”

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Sarah
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https://www.businessinsider.com/former- ... ion-2021-9

Former Rand Paul aide, pardoned by Trump, charged with funneling Russian money into 2016 election

A former campaign staffer for US Sen. Rand Paul has been charged with channeling money from Russia into the 2016 presidential election, the US Department of Justice said Monday.

In an unsealed indictment, dated September 9, prosecutors allege Jesse Benton "conspired to illegally funnel thousands of dollars of foreign money from a Russian foreign national" into the campaign.

In October 2016, Benton received a $100,000 wire transfer from the unnamed Russian national, the indictment states, promising him that he would get to "meet a celebrity" at a fundraiser in Philadelphia on September 22, 2016.

Prosecutors do not name the candidate, but former President Donald Trump was hosting a fundraiser that night at the Ritz-Carlton in Center City, Philadelphia.

The Russian national attended the fundraiser, according to the indictment, his travel to the United States facilitated by an alleged co-conspirator, Roy Douglas Wead, a conservative author. All three "had official photographs taken with Political Candidate 1," prosecutors say.

The two are accused of falsely portraying the contribution as payment for "consulting work." Benton kept most of it himself — $75,000, according to the indictment. The rest was donated to the politician in Benton's name.

Around the same time, Benton — who managed Paul's 2010 run for office, as well as the 2014 campaign of another Kentucky Republican, Sen. Mitch McConnell — was convicted of campaign finance fraud over his role in the 2012 Ron Paul presidential campaign. He was sentenced days before the Philadelphia fundraiser to two years probation and ordered to pay a $10,000 fine.

Before leaving office, Trump pardoned Benton for that crime.

If convicted in this case, Benton and Wead could face significant prison time, with each of the six counts against them carrying a sentence of five to 20 years behind bars.

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Sarah
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Re: Ron Paul runs - Ron Paul Wins!

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/201 ... f-indicted

Ron Paul's top 2012 campaign staff members indicted on felony charges

Top staff members from Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign have been indicted in the culmination of a long investigation into Paul campaign’s alleged payments to an Iowa state senator to endorse the former Texas congressman for president and the hiding of those payments.

Jesse Benton, who ran Paul’s 2012 campaign and is married to the former congressman’s granddaughter, was indicted on Wednesday on five felony charges in federal court in Des Moines, Iowa along with John Tate and Dimitri Kesari, both of whom were also were top staffers on the 2012 campaign.

Ron Paul’s son, Kentucky senator Rand Paul, is one of the candidates for the Republican presidential nomination for 2016.

Benton, Tate and Kesari have long been fixtures in the political orbits of both Ron and Rand Paul. Benton was Rand Paul’s campaign manager in his 2010 Senate campaign and was serving the same role for Mitch McConnell on his 2014 re-election campaign until he resigned due to the ongoing investigation of his role in the Sorenson scandal.

None of the three men are affiliated with Paul’s 2016 presidential campaign, but Benton is running Concerned American Votes, a superPAC endorsed by Paul which is backing his campaign. Tate runs America’s Liberty PAC, another official pro-Paul superPAC.

A spokesperson for Rand Paul’s campaign said the indictments “have nothing to do with our campaign.”

“Senator Rand Paul is disappointed that the Obama justice department chose to release this just prior to the highly anticipated first Republican presidential debate; it certainly appears suspiciously timed and possibly, politically motivated.”

The indictment alleges that Benton, Tate and Kesari conspired with then-Iowa state senator Kent Sorenson to conceal payments to him in exchange for his endorsement. Sorenson, who resigned from the Iowa state senate in 2013, agreed to a plea deal in 2014. It goes on to accuse all three men of repeatedly making false statements about the scheme to the FBI.

Sorenson had originally endorsed Minnesota Republican Michele Bachmann in the 2012 presidential primary and was illicitly being paid a salary by her campaign. While it doesn’t violate federal law for a presidential campaign to hire a state legislator to deliver his political influence, hiding the payments would violate the law.
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A campaign could not pay Sorenson openly because Iowa state senate ethics rule prevent legislators from accepting a salary from a presidential campaign.

Benton allegedly offered to match Sorenson’s salary if he jumped ship in the days before the Iowa caucuses. At the time, Bachmann’s campaign was foundering. Although the Minnesota Republican had a brief surge in support after winning the Ames Straw Poll in the summer, her campaign never took advantage of that win and collapsed in infighting.

In contrast, Paul was surging and had the potential to pull off an upset win in the Iowa caucuses. He just needed to appeal to diehard conservatives, a constituency in which Sorenson was well liked.

The agreement was allegedly sealed when Kesari gave Sorenson’s wife a $25,000 check in a suburban Des Moines steakhouse just a week before the Iowa caucuses. The check was made out to Sorenson by a jewelry company owned by Kesari’s wife, according to the indictment.

A few days later, Sorenson dramatically announced that he was backing Paul at a Des Moines rally just hours after appearing with Bachmann at one of her campaign events.

According to the indictment, Kesari tried to retrieve the check from Sorenson two years later during a furtive trip to Des Moines where both men had to initially reassure each other that they were not wearing wires. The former state senator refused to turn it over.

Ron Paul said in a statement: “I am extremely disappointed in the government’s decision. I think the timing of this indictment is highly suspicious given the fact that the first primary debate is tomorrow. My thoughts and prayers are with the families of those involved. I will not be commenting further on this matter at this time.”

Benton’s lawyer, Roscoe C Howard Jr, said he was “deeply disappointed” to learn of the indictment.

“Jesse Benton, a prominent conservative Republican, has cooperated with the government during its multi-year investigation,” he said. “That this indictment is now suddenly announced on the eve of the first Republican presidential debate strongly supports our belief that this is a politically motivated prosecution designed to serve a political agenda, not to achieve justice. Mr Benton is eager to get before an impartial judge and jury who will quickly recognize this for what he believes it is: character assassination for political gain.”

America’s Liberty Pac did not respond to requests for comment.

Peter Waldron, the former Bachmann staffer who filed a complaint with the FEC in 2013 which initiated the investigation told the Guardian that with the indictments “justice prevailed”.

Craig Robinson, a longtime Iowa Republican activist whose website the Iowa Republican played a crucial role in revealing the scandal, said the indictments should have a big impact on the 2016 GOP primary.

“If I was Rand Paul, I’d be sweating bullets,” Robinson told the Guardian. He added that the news raised big questions about the role of money of politics and “it would be a crime if Fox News doesn’t ask [Rand Paul] a question about” the indictments in Thursday’s presidential debate.

But Jeff Kaufmann, the chair of the Republican Party of Iowa, said he did not think the indictments raised any concerns about the integrity of the Iowa caucuses.

“There’s always going to be bad players in every state. All 50 of them.”

He said he thought that “the Iowa caucus process and fact that we’re first in the nation means we’re very transparent and you’re going to see the players going to be punished.”

The former state legislator also noted that the scandal didn’t involve “any of the major political leaders in the state.”

Sorenson was a freshman state senator and did not have the clout he thought he did” said Kaufmann. “I served with him and called him a legend in his own mind.”

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