A former Iowa State Senator pleaded guilty
today to concealing
payments he received from a presidential campaign in exchange for
switching his support and services from one candidate to another and to
obstructing a subsequent investigation into his conduct.
Assistant Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell of the Justice
Department’s Criminal Division and Acting Assistant Director in Charge
Timothy A. Gallagher of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the
announcement.
“An elected official admitted that he accepted under-the-table payments
from a campaign committee to secure his support and services for a
candidate in the 2012 presidential election,” said Assistant Attorney
General Caldwell. “Campaign finance reports should be accurate and
transparent, not tools for concealing campaign expenditures. Lying by
public officials – whether intended to obstruct the FEC or federal
investigators – violates the public trust and the law, and the
Department of Justice does not tolerate it.”
“Today, Mr. Sorenson has taken responsibility for his crimes,” said
Acting Assistant Director in Charge Gallagher. “Exploiting the
political process for personal gain will not be tolerated, and we will
continue to pursue those who commit such illegal actions.”
Kent Sorenson, 42, of Milo, Iowa, pleaded guilty today to one count of
causing a federal campaign committee to falsely report its expenditures
to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) and one count of obstruction
of justice in connection with the concealed expenditures. The guilty
plea was taken by Chief Magistrate Judge Celeste F. Bremer of the
Southern District of Iowa for later review by Senior District Court
Judge Robert W. Pratt. Sentencing will be scheduled at a later date.
According to a statement of facts filed
with the plea agreement, Sorenson admitted that he had supported one
campaign for the 2012 presidential election, but from October to
December 2011, he met and secretly negotiated with a second political
campaign to switch his support to that second campaign in exchange for
concealed payments that amounted to $73,000. On Dec. 28, 2011, at a
political event in Des Moines, Iowa, Sorenson publicly announced his
switch of support and work from one candidate to the other.
The payments included monthly
installments of approximately $8,000 each and were concealed by
transmitting them to a film production company, then through a second
company, and finally to Sorenson and his spouse. In response to
criticism of his change of support for the candidates, Sorenson gave
interviews to the media denying allegations that he was receiving any
money from the second campaign committee, and noted that the
committee’s FEC filings would show that the committee made no payments
to him.
In his plea agreement, Sorenson
also admitted that he gave false testimony to an independent counsel
appointed at the request of the Iowa Senate Ethics Committee, which was
investigating allegations from a former employee of the first
presidential campaign. Sorenson testified falsely to the independent
counsel about the concealed payments, in part to obstruct
investigations that he anticipated by the FBI and FEC .
The case is being investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office,
with assistance from the Omaha Field Office and the Des Moines Resident
Agency. The case is being prosecuted by Election Crimes Branch Director
Richard C. Pilger and Trial Attorney Robert J. Higdon Jr. of the
Criminal Division’s Public Integrity Section.