Nine-term GOP congressman convicted of lying to FBI will resign at the end of March

(Image credit: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

published 27 March 2022

Nine-term Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) announced in a letter to supporters on Saturday that he plans to resign at the end of March following his felony conviction for lying to the FBI, CNN reported.

Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts (R) will then call a special election to fill Fortenberry's seat. Nebraska law requires that the election be held "within 90 days after the vacancy occurs." State Sen. Mike Flood (R) was already challenging Fortenberry in the GOP primary and has been endorsed by Ricketts.

Fortenberry was found guilty on Thursday of lying to federal investigators about an illegal contribution made to his campaign by a foreign magnate. The Lincoln Journal Star reports that, according to federal prosecutors, Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury funneled "a bag of $30,000 cash" to "Los Angeles Dr. Eli Ayoub, who gave it to his relatives so they could write checks to Fortenberry at an LA fundraiser in 2016." The jury found that Fortenberry lied when he told FBI agents he didn't recognize Ayoub in photo.

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Grayson Quay was the weekend editor at TheWeek.com. His writing has also been published in National Review, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Modern Age, The American Conservative, The Spectator World, and other outlets. Grayson earned his M.A. from Georgetown University in 2019.

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