AP Photo Judge tosses four of five counts against Rand Paul aide

A federal judge on Friday threw out four of five counts stemming from a campaign fraud case against Jesse Benton, a top political adviser to Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul.

In August, Benton was indicted on charges of concealing payments to an Iowa state senator while working for Paul’s father, Ron, during the 2012 presidential race. But John Jarvis, the chief judge for the southern district of Iowa, dismissed most of the charges against Benton, leaving one remaining count, alleging that Benton lied to federal investigators.


Since his indictment, Benton has been on leave from America’s Liberty PAC, a political action committee he helped to found that supports Rand Paul’s presidential campaign.

Benton declined to comment on the ruling. A Paul spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

The judge also threw out all four counts against John Tate, another Paul family aide who works with Benton on America’s Liberty PAC. A six-charge indictment still stands against a third Paul aide, Dimitri Kesari.