By Paul Hammel, Nebraska Examiner
March 12, 2024
LINCOLN — A deadline came and went Monday to request a reconsideration of the appeals court ruling that tossed out the felony convictions of former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry.
That doesn’t mean the case is over, however.
Prosecutors still need to decide whether to seek a second trial of the former congressman in either Nebraska or Washington, D.C., where it was alleged that Fortenberry lied and misled federal agents probing illegal, foreign campaign contributions.
(It’s illegal for a foreign national — in this case, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire living in Paris named Gilbert Chagoury — to contribute to American political races.) Assistant U.S. Attorney Mack Jenkins speaks to reporters after the verdict in the Fortenberry trial two years ago. (Paul Hammel/Nebraska Examiner)
Prosecutors could also opt to appeal the recent ruling by the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals to the U.S. Supreme Court.
It’s also possible that an out-of-court plea agreement could be reached, but observers say it’s doubtful that either Fortenberry or U.S. attorneys would opt for a guilty plea to a less-than-felony offense in such a highly publicized case.
A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles declined to comment Tuesday, as did a defense attorney representing the former congressman.
Appeals court reverses conviction
In December, the appeals court reversed Fortenberry’s 2022 felony convictions in a Los Angeles courtroom, ruling that the trial should have been held in a court near where the alleged misstatements were made.
That would be in Lincoln, where FBI agents made a surprise visit to Fortenberry’s home in 2019, or in Washington, D.C., during a later meeting with federal investigators requested by the congressman’s then-attorney, former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy.
Prosecutors had argued that California was the proper venue for the trial because that’s where the FBI investigation was based, and that’s where Fortenberry was given $30,000 that had been transferred, via a brown paper bag, to several people to donate to him at a fund-raising event there.
But the appeals court rejected that, ruling that “the Venue and Vicinage Clauses command that a trial be held where the crime was committed.”
A jury in Los Angeles, after hearing audio recordings of calls between the congressman and a representative of a pro-Christian group, convicted Fortenberry of two counts of lying to federal investigators and one of trying to conceal illegal campaign donations.
‘Hard to have a fair process’
After the verdicts, Fortenberry promised an appeal and said it was “going to be hard to have a fair process here.”
The appeals court reversed his convictions but left open the possibility of a new trial.
Fortenberry had been sentenced to two years’ probation, a $25,000 fine and 320 hours of community service.
The congressman, now 63, resigned from office in March 2022, shortly after the guilty verdicts. He now works in the private sector out of Lincoln.
Billionaire paid fine
Six years after a federal investigation was launched, Chagoury agreed in 2021 to pay $1.8 million to resolve allegations that he, with the help of associates, contributed $180,000 to four U.S. political candidates.
Ray LaHood, a former U.S. secretary of Transportation, paid a $50,000 fine for taking a no-pay-back loan from Chagoury.
Then U.S. Rep. Lee Terry returned a $5,200 donation he received after learning about the FBI investigation.
Fortenberry ultimately donated the $30,000 he received that was funneled from Chagoury, but it was several months after an associate of the billionaire told him, in a phone call, that the money “probably” came from the Paris-based businessman.
Senior Reporter Paul Hammel has covered the Nebraska state government and the state for decades. Previously with the Omaha World-Herald, Lincoln Journal Star and Omaha Sun, he is a member of the Omaha Press Club’s Hall of Fame. He grows hops, brews homemade beer, plays bass guitar and basically loves traveling and writing about the state. A native of Ralston, Nebraska, he is vice president of the John G. Neihardt Foundation.
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