Grant Rodgers

grodgers@dmreg.com

Former Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson began serving a 15-month prison sentence Tuesday, the fallout from a secret plan to accept cash from Ron Paul campaign aides in exchange for his endorsement of the Texas congressman ahead of the 2012 Iowa caucus.

The former Republican lawmaker received notice last month that he was to self-surrender to a federal prison in Chicago on Tuesday, though he is still appealing the sentence handed down by Senior U.S. District Judge Robert Pratt in January. A defense attorney on March 3 asked for Sorenson's self-surrender date to be rescheduled to April so that he could complete his taxes and "wrap up pending financial matters," but Pratt denied that request shortly after it was filed.

Sorenson, of Milo, pleaded guilty in 2014 to charges of breaking federal election laws and lying under oath in the scandal that ended his political career.

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"It is my understand that he self-reported as required," defense attorney F. Montgomery Brown said in an email on Wednesday.

Sorenson gave a surprise endorsement of the libertarian-leaning Paul just days ahead of the 2012 Republican caucus. A rising Tea Party star at the time, Sorenson had been a key supporter of Michele Bachmann. He immediately denied allegations that he took money from the Paul campaign.

But investigators uncovered evidence that three Paul operatives gave Sorenson $73,000 in exchange for the endorsement, secretly paying him through an audio/visual production company to keep the state senator's name off public campaign expenditure reports. Sorenson began cooperating with prosecutors in July 2014 after FBI agents searched his home. He ultimately testified against the three operatives at their trials.

The scandal forced Sorenson to resign from the Iowa Senate in October 2013 after a special prosecutor issued a report finding that he broke ethics rules by also accepting payments from the Bachmann campaign.

Sorenson's wife, Shawnee Sorenson, began posting on a blog following the dramatic sentencing hearing in January. A post on Monday entitled "I refuse to be just inmate 15000-030" appeared to be authored by the former lawmaker himself.

The post said that Pratt, an appointee of Democratic President Bill Clinton, was "politically-motivated" in his decision to send Sorenson to prison. That post also lamented that Sorenson would have to miss important milestones with his children while incarcerated. A reporter was not immediately able to reach Shawnee Sorenson to speak with her about the post.

"I have been very open about the mistakes I have made," the post read. "I truly believe the sentence I received was unjust."

"I can see how if I focused on this injustice I can rob myself of this amazing opportunity to know God as I never have before," the blog post continued. "I cannot allow space for bitterness in my heart. I need to fill myself with the love of Christ to ensure there is no space for sin to take root again in my life. Please pray for me in this area. ... While I will be in the goverments (sic) eyes, inmate 15000-030, I know that Christ actually determines who I am. Thank GOD."

The three Paul operatives — campaign chairman Jesse Benton, campaign manager John Tate and deputy campaign manager Dimitri Kesari — were each convicted on a variety of charges. Tate and Benton each received two years of probation, while Kesari was sentenced to spend three months in federal prison.

Pratt said at Sorenson's sentencing hearing that prison time was appropriate, calling his crimes "the definition of political corruption."

"People require that tangible and serious consequences meet those that abuse the public trust for personal gain," the judge said.

Pratt's sentence disregarded a recommendation from prosecutors that Sorenson be given a more lenient sentence of probation for cooperating with investigators.