Feds Ask That Fortenberry Case Be Dismissed

KIOS | By Associated Press

Published January 30, 2025 at 2:54 PM CST

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email

U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., arrives at the federal courthouse for his trial in Los Angeles, earlier this month. Fortenberry was convicted Thursday on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser.

Federal prosecutors are asking a judge to dismiss their case against a former Nebraska congressman charged with lying to authorities about a foreign billionaire’s illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign. A court filing Wednesday doesn’t explain why the U.S. attorney’s office in Washington, D.C., is seeking the dismissal of charges against former U.S. Rep. Jeffrey Fortenberry. The nine-term Republican resigned after a related conviction in Los Angeles in 2022. After an appellate court reversed Fortenberry's conviction, he was charged again last year. Fortenberry’s trial was the first for a sitting member of Congress since Ohio Democratic Rep. Jim Traficant was convicted of bribery and other felony charges in 2002.