DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — A former Iowa senator has been sentenced to 15 months in prison for accepting payment to endorse presidential candidate Ron Paul in 2012.
Kent Sorenson was Iowa chairman of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign when he shifted support to Paul just days before the January 2012 Iowa Caucuses.
He lied to federal investigators looking into whether the Paul campaign hid the payments in financial disclosure forms and had faced up to 25 years in prison on charges of causing false reports to be filed and attempting to obstruct the investigation.
Prosecutors asked the judge for probation because Sorenson testified against three Paul campaign staffers. But Judge Robert Pratt in Des Moines said Tuesday that justice demands prison time as Sorenson engaged in political corruption.
[image via shutterstock]
