Fortenberry's (R-NE) lawyers continue offensive, now ask statements to FBI be tossed out

[Omaha Steve]

By Paul Hammel Dec 1, 2021 Updated 42 min ago

LINCOLN — Attorneys for indicted U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry continued on the offensive, filing a new pre-trial motion late Tuesday claiming that a lead prosecutor misled the veteran congressman into making incriminating statements.

Lawyers are seeking to throw out statements Fortenberry made to federal investigators in March and July of 2019. In those interviews, prosecutors maintain the Republican lawmaker lied about whether he'd received illegal political contributions from a foreign national for his 2016 reelection campaign.

In their motion to suppress, defense attorneys claim that Fortenberry would not have talked to FBI agents if it were not for the lead prosecutor's assurance that the congressman was not a "target" of their investigation, but merely a "subject," trending toward becoming only a "witness" concerning the illegal contributions.

When Fortenberry became concerned about "accusatory" questions from federal investigators during the July 2019 interview, his then-attorney, former U.S. Rep. Trey Gowdy, asked lead prosecutor Mack Jenkins if the interview was "a set-up for a 'bulls**t 1001.' " That is a reference to a federal law that makes it a crime to knowingly or willingly make false statements to federal agents.

FULL story: https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/fortenberrys-lawyers-continue-offensive-now-ask-statements-to-fbi-be-tossed-out/article_ffe5b110-52bd-11ec-add1-cbca8a75ce0b.html#tracking-source=home-the-latest



Fortenberry (pronounced Fartenberry)