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GOP Rep. Jeff Fortenberry guilty of three felonies in campaign contributions case
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/nebraska-congressman-convicted-of-lying-in-campaign-contribution-probe-01648174193?mod=mw_latestnewsLOS ANGELES — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted Thursday of charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser.
A federal jury in California found the nine-term Republican guilty of one count of falsifying and concealing material facts and two counts of making false statements. Fortenberry was charged after sitting for two interviews with FBI agents who were investigating the donor, Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent.
Fortenberry showed no emotion as the verdict was read but one of his daughters in the front row of the gallery began sobbing uncontrollably. After the jury left the courtroom, Fortenberry walked over to his wife and two daughters and clasped them in a hug. He then kissed his wife on the lips and returned to a seat next to his lawyer.
The judge set sentencing for June 28.
Fortenberry, 61, argued at trial that prosecutors knew that the congressman didn’t know about the contribution, but directed an informant to feed him the information in a 10-minute call with the intention of trying to prosecute him.
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