Fortenberry Gets Probation
By Gordon Hopkins
Former Nebraska Congressman Jeff Fortenberry was sentenced in a Los Angeles courtroom to two years of probation, a $25,000 fine and 320 hours of community service.
Fortenberry, a Republican who served as District One congressman, was found guilty on all counts in a Los Angeles courtroom on Thursday, March 24, 2022. The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before declaring the nine-term Congressman guilty of three felonies: one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators, stemming from an investigation into $30,000 in illegal contributions to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign made by a foreign billionaire in early 2016. According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, each charge carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Fortenberry, first announced in 2021 that he was being investigated by the FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) by posting a video posted on the video-sharing website, YouTube, sitting in a 1963 Ford pickup along with his wife, Celeste Fortenberry, and his dog, Pippin.
According to a statement from the FBI released in 2021, “The indictment alleges that Fortenberry repeatedly lied to and misled authorities during a federal investigation into illegal contributions to Fortenberry’s re-election campaign made by a foreign billionaire in early 2016. Gilbert Chagoury, a foreign national prohibited by federal law from contributing to any U.S. elections, arranged for $30,000 of his money to be contributed through other individuals (conduits) to Fortenberry’s campaign during a fundraiser held in Los Angeles, according to the indictment.”
It is illegal for foreign nationals to make contributions to a federal campaign.
Prosecutors had requested a six-month prison term. However, U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld said, “by all accounts the man is of exceptional character.”
The day after he was sentenced, Fortenberry began the process to appeal his conviction, “This case shows how the federal false statements statute can be weaponized by FBI and DOJ officials in a way Congress could not have contemplated when it was enacted and that it can be used to destroy the lives of even the most honorable people.”
Fortenberry’s attorney, Glen E. Summers, issued a statement, claiming that the federal law used to convict Fortenberry is “far too susceptible to abuse.”
Prior to the trial, Fortenberry announced his intention to seek a 10th term in office. Fortenberry has served in Congress since 2005. He announced his resignation effective March 31 of this year, two days after being found guilty.
