Nebraska congressman indicted
Fortenberry accused of lying to FBI, IRS about donations
A federal grand jury has indicted Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-neb., on charges of lying to federal investigators about his campaign contributions.
The congressman, who was elected in 2004, said in a video released Monday evening that he anticipated the indictment. His wife, Celeste, in a letter to supporters before the indictment was announced, labeled it a “false accusation.”
The federal grand jury charged him with one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators looking into illegal contributions to his 2016 campaign, according to the U.S. attorney’s office for the Central District of California.
Under House Republican rules, Fortenberry will have to step down as the top Republican on the House Appropriations subcommittee on Agriculture while the charges are pending. Aides to House Minority Leader Kevin Mccarthy, Rcalif., did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Fortenberry’s committee assignments.
Fortenberry, 60, served on the Lincoln City Council for four years before winning an open House seat in 2004 on a conservative record of opposition to abortion rights and same-sex marriage. He has easily won re-election in the Republican-leaning district. His office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday.
The charges center on a $30,200 donation made by Gilbert Chagoury, a wealthy Nigerian businessman of Lebanese descent, in January 2016 “using other individuals as conduits,” according to the indictment.
“As a foreign national, Chagoury was prohibited from making donations and contributions directly or indirectly in support of any candidate for federal elected office in the United States,” the indictment states.
An individual who helped funnel the donation to Fortenberry’s campaign account through others began cooperating with law enforcement in September 2016. The individual told Fortenberry during a June 2018 phone call that the donation “probably did come from Gilbert Chagoury because he was so grateful for your support (for) the cause,” the indictment states.
Fortenberry did not file an amended FEC report. He went on to ask the individual to host another fundraiser for him, and later, in 2019, the congressman “knowingly and willfully made materially false statements and representations to the FBI and IRS” regarding the donation, according to the indictment.