Trial delayed for 3 Ron Paul aides charged in Kent Sorenson payoff

DES MOINES, Ia. — A judge has delayed trial for three former Ron Paul campaign aides charged with secretly paying off a former Iowa lawmaker in exchange for an endorsement before the 2012 presidential caucuses.

U.S. District Judge John Jarvey ruled Wednesday the trial of Jesse Benton, John Tate and Dimitri Kesari would be delayed until Oct. 13. Trial had been scheduled to begin Monday in Des Moines.

The three former top officials in Paul's campaign for the Republican nomination were indicted by a federal grand jury and pleaded not guilty in August.

They're charged with conspiring to pay former state Sen. Kent Sorenson $73,000 in campaign funds in exchange for his defection from Michele Bachmann's campaign. Prosecutors say they lied about the payments on federal disclosure forms to hide them from the public.