Trump- and Meadows-backed House candidate agrees to plead guilty to accepting illegal campaign contribution

Lynda Bennett, who was backed by then-President Donald Trump and Mark Meadows in her run for the latter’s former Home seat in North Carolina, has agreed to plead responsible to accepting an unlawful marketing campaign contribution in the course of the 2020 main election cycle, court docket filings present.

Bennett accepted an unlawful marketing campaign contribution from a member of the family for $25,000 in 2019, prosecutors mentioned. The member of the family made the donation in another person’s identify, based on court docket paperwork.

“This case entails a technical violation of campaign-finance rules, based mostly on a mortgage from a member of the family,” Kearns Davis, an lawyer for Bennett, mentioned in an announcement. “Lynda appears to be like ahead to placing it behind her.”

Whereas Bennett has already signed a plea settlement, prosecutors mentioned in a standing report filed in court docket, it has not but been authorised by a federal choose. Politico first reported on the settlement.

Bennett was backed by Meadows, then the Trump White Home chief of workers, when she ran in a crowded discipline in 2020 to symbolize North Carolina’s eleventh Congressional District. She superior to a runoff election, which she misplaced to Madison Cawthorn.

She additionally earned former Trump’s endorsement in the course of the main and runoff elections. Trump inspired his supporters on the time to vote for Bennett, tweeting: “Please let this function my Full and Whole Endorsement of an ideal fighter and ally in North Carolina, @LyndaBennettNC. She is robust on Crime, Borders, Army, our Nice Vets & 2A.”

For the 2020 election cycle, particular person marketing campaign contributions had been legally restricted to $2,800 for the first and the identical quantity for the final election, which means a person might solely donate $5,600 per candidate throughout an election cycle.

“Contributions from members of the candidate’s household are topic to the identical limits that apply to every other particular person,” the Federal Election Fee notes on its web site, describing marketing campaign finance guidelines, whereas “candidate contributions to their very own campaigns are usually not topic to any limits.”