Indictment reverberates in national, Kentucky campaigns

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Republican strategist Jesse Benton’s indictment on charges of conspiring to buy support for Ron Paul’s 2012 presidential campaign is reverberating from Kentucky to the current campaign for the White House.

Benton managed Rand Paul’s successful U.S. Senate campaign in 2010 and has helped lead a super PAC supporting Rand Paul’s presidential run. Rand Paul is Ron Paul’s son.

WBKO-TV in Bowling Green, Kentucky, reports the younger Paul called Benton’s indictment "suspicious," coming shortly before the first debate of the 2016 campaign for the presidency.

Benton says he is taking a leave of absence from America’s Liberty, the super PAC, and expects to return when he’s exonerated.

Meanwhile, the Republican state auditor candidate in Kentucky says Benton has stepped aside from his role as campaign consultant.

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