An Iowa jury has acquitted Jesse Benton, a longtime aide to both former congressman Ron Paul and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), on charges of lying to the FBI. That decision effectively clears two key Paul family aides who had been under an ethical cloud since a December 2011 decision to pay a state senator for his endorsement.

"God is great," Benton told Des Moines Register reporter Grant Rodgers as he left the Southern District of Iowa federal courthouse today. "It feels good." Asked for further reaction by The Washington Post, Benton repeated himself: "God is great."

Benton had been the chairman of Ron Paul's 2012 presidential campaign. Like John Tate, who had been Paul's campaign manager, he succeeded in getting the court to drop most of the counts related to the payoff of former senator Kent Sorenson, a Republican who wanted a six-month salary in exchange for leaving another candidate's campaign.