A federal investigation into events surrounding the Ron Paul 2012 presidential campaign in Iowa is ongoing and “making progress,” the Des Moines Register reported today. During a brief hearing that included federal prosecutors and the attorney representing a former Iowa state senator who has pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance rules in connection with the campaign, prosecutors said they are working on a related “larger investigation”, the paper reported.

While the target of the ongoing investigation isn’t clear, campaign finance records suggest that top aides to the 2012 presidential campaign, some of whom may now be working for Sen. Rand Paul’s presidential bid, might be in the cross-hairs.

On Aug. 27, 2014, Sorenson pleaded guilty to federal charges that in early 2012 he caused an unnamed presidential campaign to file misleading expenditure reports and that he then lied to investigators about it. His plea agreement suggests he will be asked to testify against someone before sentencing. The minutes of today’s hearing note that both sides expect he could be sentenced by April, but Sorenson’s attorney did not elaborate when asked to comment on what that might mean or whether Sorenson would be testifying against anyone else.

A Justice Department spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on the case.

In early September, OpenSecrets Blog detailed a number of large, suspicious transactions between Paul’s campaign and a video production company in Maryland with close ties to the campaign’s deputy campaign manager, Dimitri Kesari. According to Sorenson’s plea agreement and his statements to Iowa state investigators, Kesari was involved with negotiations to buy Sorenson’s endorsement; at one point, Kesari gave Sorenson a $25,000 check (which he never cashed) written from the bank account of Kesari’s wife’s jewelry shop. OpenSecrets Blog found that the campaign paid a nearly identical amount to the jewelry store.

OpenSecrets Blog also published a copy of a federal grand jury subpoena from early August targeting email accounts belonging to Ron Paul and a number of his campaign staff, including his granddaughter’s husband, Jesse Benton. Benton was Paul’s campaign manager and later held the same job for Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) campaign.

Benton was involved in email exchanges among Ron Paul staffers regarding the possibility of paying Sorenson to endorse the campaign. Benton resigned from McConnell’s campaign after news of Sorenson’s plea broke.

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In December, Rand Paul said he would “welcome” having Benton work for his 2016 campaign. Doug Stafford, Paul’s top political aide, declined to comment on Sorenson’s case.

Neither Kesari nor Benton returned calls seeking comment on the latest developments.

Lori Pyeatt, Ron Paul’s daughter and one of two listed employees still receiving a salary from the 2012 campaign, also did not respond to requests for comment about what role the campaign or Paul himself may be playing in the investigation. However, the campaign suddenly began paying very large legal bills last summer on a schedule that roughly coincided with the subpoenas and Sorenson’s plea deal.

Those big legal bills have continued to pile up for the campaign. In the final three months of 2014, for example, the campaign paid more than $127,000 to three different legal firms — including two pricey Washington, D.C. firms, and a third lesser-known firm. To put that in perspective, the campaign only spent $187,000 in the quarter.

Andrews Kurth LLP, a large international law firm with offices in Washington, was paid more than $68,000 on Dec. 29, and LeClair Ryan, another high-end Washington firm, was paid $39,332 on the same date. A third firm, Harvey & Binnall, was also paid $20,000 on that day. According to the Washington Post, Jesse Binnall, a partner at that firm, has represented Kesari, but Binnall is no longer with Harvey & Binnall. Binnall could not be reached for comment.

The campaign has spent more than $364,000 on legal fees since last August.



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