Two Republican political operatives have been charged with allegedly funneling $25,000 from an unnamed Russian national into a 2016 Presidential election campaign. Jesse Benton, 43, of Louisville, Kentucky, previously worked as an aide to Sens. Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and Rand Paul (R-Ky.), while Roy Douglas “Doug” Wead, 75, of Bonita Springs, Florida, previously served as an adviser to multiple presidential campaigns. Former President Donald Trump pardoned Benton in 2020 after he was convicted and faced federal campaign finance charges in a case involving $73,000 in payments to Iowa state Sen. Kent Sorenson so that he would endorse Ron Paul instead of Michelle Bachman in the 2012 presidential GOP primary. According to an indictment released by the Department of Justice on Sept. 20, both Benton and Wead allegedly conspired together to solicit a political contribution from a wealthy unnamed Russian foreign national during the 2016 presidential election. As per the indictment, Wead told the Russian national that they could meet could meet the unnamed …