Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) was found guilty on Thursday of lying to federal investigators about an illegal contribution made to his campaign by a foreign billionaire.
The nine-term congressman was convicted in federal court on three felony counts, with jurors returning a verdict after less than three hours of deliberations. Fortenberry faces up to five years in prison on each count, in addition to fines. His sentencing is set for June 28.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Fortenberry's defense attorney argued that his client might not have had clear cellphone reception when the fundraiser's organizer, Elias Ayoub, called him in 2018 and named Chagoury as the source of the funds, Politico reports. While Fortenberry didn't testify, his wife, Celeste, did, and said because her husband is always so busy, he might not have been paying close attention during the call with Ayoub.
At the time of their conversation, Ayoub was working with the FBI, and recorded his chat with Fortenberry. In 2019, FBI agents went to Fortenberry's home, and secretly videotaped him while asking about the fundraiser. Fortenberry denied knowing anything about foreign money being donated to his campaign.
-
The UK’s opioid crisis: why the stats don’t add upThe Explainer A new report has revealed that the UK’s total of opioid-related deaths could be much greater than official figures show
-
Gaza genocide: will UN ruling change anything?Today's Big Question Commission of Inquiry’s findings ‘give unprecedented weight’ to genocide claims
-
How The Summer I Turned Pretty has brought out the worst in its fansIn the Spotlight Amazon’s love-triangle hit ‘driving some of the most bonkers and unhinged online energy in the history of the internet’
-
House posts lewd Epstein note attributed to TrumpSpeed Read The estate of Jeffrey Epstein turned over the infamous 2003 birthday note from President Donald Trump
-
Supreme Court allows 'roving' race-tied ICE raidsSpeed Read The court paused a federal judge's order barring agents from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in LA based on race
-
South Korea to fetch workers detained in Georgia raidSpeed Read More than 300 South Korean workers detained in an immigration raid at a Hyundai plant will be released
-
DC sues Trump to end Guard 'occupation'Speed Read D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues that the unsolicited military presence violates the law
-
RFK Jr. faces bipartisan heat in Senate hearingSpeed Read The health secretary defended his leadership amid CDC turmoil and deflected questions about the restricted availability of vaccines
-
White House defends boat strike as legal doubts mountSpeed Read Experts say there was no legal justification for killing 11 alleged drug-traffickers
-
Epstein accusers urge full file release, hint at own listspeed read A rally was organized by Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie, who are hoping to force a vote on their Epstein Files Transparency Act
-
Court hands Harvard a win in Trump funding battleSpeed Read The Trump administration was ordered to restore Harvard's $2 billion in research grants
