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Conservative Commentator Dinesh D’Souza Indicted for Campaign Finance Fraud

Conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza indicted for campaign finance fraud.

Photo by MICHAEL GOTTSCHALK/AFP/Getty Images

Conservative commentator, and bestselling author, Dinesh D’Souza, has been indicted on charges of violating campaign finance laws. In the indictment, made public on Thursday, D’Souza is accused of orchestrating excessive campaign contributions to be made to a U.S. Senate candidate, Reuters reports. The candidate to which the contributions were given was not identified in the indictment.  According to the indictment, D’Souza is accused of reimbursing contributors in Aug. 2012 who gave $20,000 to the unnamed candidate’s campaign. Individuals were only legally permitted to donate a total of $5,000 to a candidate during a primary and general election combined. D’Souza was charged “with one count of making illegal contributions in the names of others, and one count of causing false statements to be made,” according to Reuters.

Here’s more on D’Souza via Reuters:

Born in Mumbai, India, D’Souza, 52, is a former policy adviser to President Ronald Reagan, and has been affiliated with conservative organizations such as the American Enterprise Institute and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. He also directed a 2012 film critical of President Barack Obama, “2016: Obama’s America,” and has written books including “The End of Racism,” “Life After Death: The Evidence” and “Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream.” D’Souza campaigned in 2012 on behalf of Wendy Long, a lawyer and Republican who sought to unseat Democratic incumbent Kirsten Gillibrand as New York’s junior senator.