Congressional Candidate Accused of Campaign Violation - Plea Agreement Signed
A candidate for a western North Carolina congressional seat in 2020 has been accused by federal prosecutors of a campaign finance violation, and she’s signed a plea agreement, court records say.
Lynda Bennett is charged with willingly and knowingly accepting on her campaign’s behalf $25,000 in contributions in 2019 from a relative that were provided in the name of another person, according to criminal information filed by U.S. Justice Department attorneys on Friday.
Another document filed on Monday by one of the federal attorneys in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia requested a court hearing because Bennett “has signed a plea agreement and statement of offense.”
Federal law during the 2019-20 election cycle limited an individual’s campaign donation to a federal candidate to $2,800 per election, or $5,600 in total, the criminal information said.
The document identifies neither the relative nor the name of the other person who made donations.
Bennett, a longtime Haywood County real estate agent, didn’t immediately respond on Monday to a phone message seeking comment on the accusations, which were first reported by Politico.
Meadows aggressively pushed Bennett to succeed him after he joined the Trump White House.
Bennett’s apparent plea agreement — signed by federal prosecutors — appeared on the docket over the weekend.https://t.co/t64x5CBmSU pic.twitter.com/RbQZdFWWtB
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 30, 2023
UPDATE: Meadows ally Lynda BENNETT has pleaded guilty to a felony campaign finance crime.https://t.co/t64x5CBmSU pic.twitter.com/p75dtDWmT4
— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 30, 2023
Bennett was a Republican candidate in the race for the 11th Congressional District seat held by then-Rep. Mark Meadows, who was vacating the seat to become President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.
Bennett was a friend of Meadows’ wife and was endorsed by Meadows before the March 2020 primary.
She advanced to a primary runoff but lost to Madison Cawthorn despite also receiving Trump’s endorsement.
Breaking News: @realdonaldtrump has endorsed our campaign for Congress in #NC11. Thank you, Mr. President. I am honored to have your endorsement and am excited to help you Keep America Great. Join our campaign today by donating https://t.co/4UWuK9RsoB https://t.co/QGHXO6rIMm
— Lynda Bennett (@LyndaBennettNC) June 4, 2020
Cawthorn won the 11th District general election in November 2020 and served one term.
Then-state Sen. Chuck Edwards defeated Cawthorn in last May’s primary and joined Congress this month.
The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.
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