Court Reverses Former Rep. Fortenberry’s Conviction of Lying to FBI

Peter Wade
·2 min read
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Former Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry scored a victory Tuesday when an appeals court reversed his conviction of lying to federal authorities about an illegal foreign donation to Fortenberry’s 2016 campaign. The court ruled that the former congressman’s trial took place in the wrong venue.

“Fortenberry’s trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed, and before a jury drawn from the vicinage of the federal agencies that investigated the defendant. The Constitution does not permit this,” U.S. District Judge James Donato wrote on behalf of the three-judge panel. “Fortenberry’s convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue.”

Fortenberry was initially convicted of concealing information from law enforcement and two charges of lying to authorities regarding the donation his reelection campaign received from Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury. Chagoury used a “straw donors” scheme to funnel $30,200 to Fortenberry at a 2016 campaign fundraiser held in California. The billionaire later admitted to illegally donating $180,000 to four U.S. candidates. Campaign contributions by foreign nationals are prohibited by federal law.

Even though fundraiser co-host Elias Ayoub — who later cooperated with federal authorities — called Fortenberry in 2018 to tell him that the money “probably did come from Gilbert Chagoury,” the then-congressman did not notify the Federal Election Commission, the indictment said. When talking to federal agents in 2019, Fortenberry denied knowing the money was from a foreign source, but law enforcement had a record of the call, court documents said.

The congressman’s false statements to authorities took place in Nebraska and Washington, D.C., but Fortenberry was charged and convicted in California, which the appeals court ruled was unconstitutional. A trial judge had initially ruled that prosecution of Fortenberry could proceed in California because although the former congressman’s false statements didn’t take place in the state, they affected the investigation that was based in California. Fortenberry ultimately resigned from Congress and received two years probation, a $25,000 fine and 320 hours of community service.

“We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit’s decision,” the former congressman said in a statement following the appeals court ruling. “[My wife] Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship.”

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