Ron Paul accuses feds of trying to hurt Rand's campaign

Ron Paul forcefully told jurors on Wednesday that prosecutors carefully timed an indictment against three of his former campaign staffers in an attempt to bruise his son, Rand, ahead of the first Republican presidential primary debate.

Paul, a former U.S. congressman from Texas and presidential candidate, came to Des Moines' federal courthouse to testify for the prosecution against two of his former top campaign staffers, Jesse Benton and Dimitri Kesari.

The two operatives are charged in a scheme to illegally hide payments made to former Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson, allegedly for his endorsement of Paul's 2012 bid. In an opening statement Tuesday, U.S. Department of Justice prosecutor Richard Pilger portrayed Paul as a victim of Benton and Kesari's plot to keep him in the dark about the payments.

But Paul appeared unhappy to be testifying against the two. He blamed news organizations and prosecutors for an investigation that became a years-long ordeal for his family, one that included the former candidate being called to testify before a grand jury. Benton is married to Paul's granddaughter and traveled constantly with him through the campaign. The former congressman told jurors he still stands by Benton.

"I'm not testifying for the defense," he said at one point during cross-examination from Kesari's lawyer. "I'm testifying for the prosecution. And that's been a heavy burden for my family."

Paul also said he believes federal prosecutors intentionally announced an indictment in the case on Aug. 5, one day before the first Republican primary debate on Fox News that featured his son, Rand Paul. The younger Paul is a U.S. senator from Kentucky and is also seeking the nomination, currently polling at just more than 3 percent in Iowa, according to a Real Clear Politics polling average.

"I don't consider that a coincidence," Ron Paul said in court. "I consider that more than seeking justice."

Paul left the courthouse without speaking to reporters. He testified to having no knowledge of payments allegedly made to Sorenson by his campaign and said he "certainly" didn't know whether the allegations against Benton and Kesari were true.

The original indictment also included charges against John Tate, Paul's 2012 campaign manager, but they were dismissed ahead of trial. Benton served as the chairman of Paul's campaign, while Kesari was the deputy campaign manager.

Paul's campaigns solidified his reputation as a leading voice of the GOP's so-called liberty wing, calling for a smaller federal government and denouncing U.S. military involvement in foreign countries.

But claims of dirty dealings by campaign staff arose before the 2012 Iowa Republican caucus when Sorenson publicly switched his support from former U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann to Paul at a rally on Dec. 28, 2011.

Sorenson denied that he was paid for the switch in an interview the next morning on Fox News. Prosecutors contend it was this public denial that forced Benton, Kesari and Tate to pay the state senator $73,000 off-the-books. They allegedly used a video production company to filter the money to Sorenson, violating election laws about reporting campaign expenditures.

Paul told jurors Wednesday that he learned about Sorenson's defection from Bachmann only three to five minutes before the state senator endorsed him at a press conference. The news of Sorenson's endorsement "annoyed" him, because the commotion came as he was preparing to speak, he said.

"I was annoyed because I was caught off-balance," he said.

As for Sorenson himself, Paul said he never felt any particular affection for the former politician. "We've crossed paths, but it was never a close association," he said.

During cross-examination, Paul admitted that he'd support paying a local figure from campaign coffers if the person was doing work for the campaign.

But the former congressman said he doesn't put stock in endorsements — a lesson he learned after his 1996 election to the U.S. House of Representatives. Texas' establishment politicians endorsed his opponent during that election, while he only sought the endorsement of Texas Rangers pitcher Nolan Ryan.

Paying for an endorsement would be a "big problem to consider," he said.

"I didn't pay Nolan Ryan, let me tell you that," he said. "But it meant more to me than anything else."

Paul, wearing a dark suit and a blue patterned tie, sometimes donned reading glasses during his testimony to read transcripts and other evidence. In the hallway awaiting his turn, a reporter spotted Paul reading a display on the history of jury service.

Jurors earlier in the day heard testimony from FBI special agent Karen LoStracco, who led the probe into the alleged payments. LoStracco read from strings of emails and invoices sent between Kesari, Benton and other campaign staff that prosecutors claim show the workings of the conspiracy to secretly pay Sorenson.

LoStracco also testified about an interview she had with Benton over a two-day period in 2014. In that interview, the former Paul campaign chair repeatedly denied that the campaign paid Sorenson, she said. However, he admitted that the campaign had prepared a $25,000 wire transfer intended as payment for Sorenson late 2011.

The agent claimed that Benton told her the campaign scrapped the transfer after Sorenson's public denial of a payment.

Benton is charged with one count of making false statements to the agents during that 2014 interview. Kesari faces several charges, including conspiracy.

Sorenson is expected to testify during the trial, which will stretch into next week.