A federal appeals court panel threw out Tuesday’s conviction of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) for lying to the FBI about illegal campaign contributions.
A three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Fortenberry had been wrongfully tried in Los Angeles, rather than in Nebraska or Washington, DC.
Fortenberry, 62, resigned from his position in the House of Representatives following his conviction in March 2022 on charges of withholding information and making false statements to federal authorities.
The former lawmaker was sentenced in June to two years of probation, 320 hours of community service, and a $25,000 fine.
“The Constitution clearly requires that criminal defendants be tried in the place where the criminal conduct occurred,” US District Judge James Donato wrote for the panel.
Jeff Fortenberry has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in the case. Reuters
“Fortenberry’s trial took place in a state where no crime was alleged to have been committed, and before a jury drawn from the area of the federal agency investigating the defendant,” he added. “The Constitution does not allow this. Fortenberry’s conviction is reversed so that he can be tried again, if at all, in the proper place.”
“We are pleased with the Ninth Circuit’s decision,” Fortenberry said in a statement released by his attorney.
“Celeste and I want to thank everyone who supported us and supported us with their kindness and friendship.”
The FBI interviewed Jeff Fortenberry in 2019. Getty Images
Fortenberry is accused of concealing illegal contributions made to the 2016 House campaign by Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, who prosecutors say wired about $30,000 through straw donors who attended Los Angeles fundraisers.
Federal law prohibits foreign nationals from donating to political campaigns.
The fundraiser’s co-host, Chagoury, and his co-workers who supplied $30,000 to straw donors are all cooperating with authorities.
Jeff Fortenberry can be tried again. AP
In March 2019, Fortenberry allegedly told FBI investigators at his home in Lincoln, Neb. that he was not aware of any contributions to his campaign from foreigners, despite being told the previous June by a fundraiser co-host that the $30,000 in question “may have come from Gilbert Chagoury.”
Fortenberry reiterated in July 2019, during a second FBI interview held in Washington, that he was not aware of any illegal contributions to his campaign.
“[T]here is certainly a prosecutable crime where the effects are felt,” Donato wrote in the panel’s decision. “But the situation is very different from a [false statements] offence, for which no statute or universal recognition permits prosecution where the effect of a statement is felt”.
Judges on the appeals panel included Donato, an Obama appointee, as well as Salvador Mendoza Jr. and Gabriel Sanchez, both appointed by Biden.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
