Nebraska Republican Jeff Fortenberry stepped down after concerted pressure from both Washington and his own state.
The timing of Fortenberry’s resignation is expected to trigger a special election. Chagoury had connections to Defense of Christians, a nonprofit that combated the persecution of Christians and other minorities in the Middle East, court documents revealed. Fortenberry was indicted in October after authorities said he lied to FBI agents in two separate interviews about his knowledge of an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire.
"Due to the difficulties of my current circumstances, I can no longer effectively serve," the GOP congressman said.
A White House official told Axios Flournoy is departing for "personal reasons." Driving the news: Flournoy has been with the team from the beginning and is the highest-ranking of the VP's office to leave amid a flurry of other significant departures in the last several months. - “Congressman Fortenberry’s conviction represents a breach of the public trust and confidence in his ability to serve. - “I think when someone's convicted, it's time to resign,” he said at a press conference, adding that he planned to speak with Fortenberry later in the day. - Fortenberry and his attorneys argued the prosecution was politically motivated and that Fortenberry misremembered details of a call with an associate who informed him of the illegal donations. Driving the news: Fortenberry told his House colleagues in a letter that his resignation is effective March 31.
Republican Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, who was convicted earlier this week in regard to an investigation looking into illegal campaign contributions, ...
The indictment goes on to say that "it was not until after the FBI and USAO interviewed him in July 2019 that defendant Fortenberry disgorged the contributions." According to the indictment, Fortenberry contacted that individual in the spring of 2018 to discuss hosting another event. But the Nebraska Republican said that he "didn't know anything about this."
The Republican congressman is stepping down after he was found guilty this week on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal campaign ...
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Representative Jeff Fortenberry announced he would leave his seat at the end of the month, just days after he was convicted on charges of lying to ...
He was first interviewed by federal investigators in 2019, as part of an inquiry into Mr. Chagoury’s donations to multiple candidates between 2012 and 2016. Mr. Chagoury had funneled the donation through an intermediary, according to the indictment in the case. Mr. Fortenberry, in a letter to his colleagues, said he would step down from his seat on March 31. (Foreign citizens cannot donate to American election campaigns, and Mr. Chagoury has since paid a $1.8 million fine after a deal with the U.S. government.) “When someone’s convicted, it’s time to resign.” WASHINGTON — Representative Jeff Fortenberry, Republican of Nebraska, announced on Saturday that he would resign from Congress at the end of the month, days after he was convicted on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal campaign donation.
The Nebraska Republican was convicted by a jury Thursday of lying to federal agents about illegal campaign contributions in 2016 from a Lebanese-Nigerian ...
Chagoury had entered into a deferred prosecution agreement in 2019 under which he spoke about providing about $180,000 in illegal contributions to four candidates in U.S. elections. Prosecutors said Chagoury used “straw donors” to make contributions equaling $30,000 to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign during a Los Angeles fundraiser in 2016. Fortenberry, 61, was convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles on Thursday of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators.
This comes after Fortenberry was convicted in California on Thursday on three felony charges for lying to the FBI about a 2016 foreign campaign ...