Congressional Candidate Charged with Campaign Violation – Guilty Agreement Signed

A 2020 Western North Carolina congressional candidate was charged by federal prosecutors with campaign finance violations, and she signed a plea agreement, court records say.

Linda Bennett is accused of voluntarily and knowingly receiving $25,000 in 2019 contributions on behalf of her campaign from a relative that was made in the name of another person, according to criminal intelligence filed by U.S. Justice Department prosecutors on Friday.

Another document, filed on Monday by a federal prosecutor in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, calls for a court hearing because Bennett “signed a plea agreement and a wrongdoing statement.”

Federal law during the 2019-2020 election cycle limited individual campaign contributions to a federal candidate to $2,800 for an election, or $5,600 overall, according to Crime Information.

The document does not indicate either a relative or the name of another person who made a donation.

Bennett, a longtime Haywood County real estate agent, did not immediately return a phone message on Monday asking for comment on the allegations, first reported by Politico.

Meadows aggressively pushed Bennett to replace him after he joined the Trump White House.

Bennett’s apparent plea agreement, signed by federal prosecutors, appeared on record over the weekend. pic.twitter.com/RbQZdFWWtB

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 30, 2023

UPDATE: Meadows ally Linda BENNETT pleaded guilty to campaign finance charges. pic.twitter.com/p75dtDWmT4

— Kyle Cheney (@kyledcheney) January 30, 2023

Bennett was the Republican nominee in the race for a seat in the 11th congressional district held by a then member of the House of Representatives. Mark Meadows, who vacated his seat to become President Donald Trump’s chief of staff.

Bennett was a friend of Meadows’ wife and was endorsed by Meadows ahead of the March 2020 primary.

She advanced to the primary tour but lost to Madison Cawthorne despite also receiving Trump’s support.

Latest news: @realdonaldtrump endorsed our campaign for Congress in #NC11. Thank you Mr President. I’m honored to have your support and I’m excited to help you keep America great. Join our campaign today by donating

— Linda Bennett (@LyndaBennettNC) June 4, 2020

Cawthorne won the November 2020 11th district general election and served one term.

Then-State Senator Chuck Edwards defeated Cawthorne in the primary last May and joined Congress this month.

The Western Journal reviewed this Associated Press article and may have revised it prior to publication to meet our editorial standards.