Republican Gets New Trial After California Conviction Overturned

Former Nebraska Representative Jeff Fortenberry was ordered a new trial on Tuesday as his California conviction related to lying to the FBI about an illegal campaign contribution was overturned.

The Republican was found guilty by a California jury of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts, and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators in March 2022. The investigation was looking into claims that Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire, illegally gave money to Fortenberry's 2016 re-election campaign in violation of laws banning foreign nationals from making contributions to a federal campaign. Prosecutors said Fortenberry, who represented Nebraska's 1st Congressional District, had "lied to and misled authorities" when he was being interviewed about Chagoury's $30,000 donation. Meanwhile, in court, Fortenberry claimed he did not lie to the FBI so much as misremember.

Fortenberry resigned from his position in Congress, did not receive a jail sentence, but did receve two years probation and a $25,000 fine.

However, in July, Fortenberry appealed his conviction to a three-judge panel claiming that the district court denied his motion to dismiss the case because the venue was improper in the Central District of California.

On Tuesday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals tossed the conviction and ordered a new trial for Fortenberry, arguing that he should not have been tried in Los Angeles, but rather Washington, D.C., or Nebraska.

Newsweek has reached out to the Justice Department via email for comment

"Fortenberry's trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed, and before a jury drawn from the vicinage of the federal agencies that investigated the defendant," wrote U.S. District Judge James Donato, who sat on the appeals court by designation.

"The Constitution does not permit this. Fortenberry's convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue," the 23-page opinion continued.

Also on the panel were Circuit Judges Gabriel Sanchez and Salvador Mendoza Jr., who were both appointed by President Joe Biden.

"We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit's decision. Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship," Fortenberry told Business Insider in response to the ruling.

Amid the investigation, during interviews with the FBI, Fortenberry told investigators that he was unaware of any illegal contributions to his campaign. But court filings indicate the agency had listened into an earlier phone call, in which a cooperating witness told Fortenberry that the Nigerian businessman was likely the source of the $30,200 donation.

The trial judge enabled a jury trial to move forward in California by ruling that false statement violations occur not only where they are uttered, but also where they have an effect on a federal investigation. The donation investigation was run out of the FBI's Los Angeles field office.

However, Fortenberry's argument to appeal stems from those FBI interviews, which took place at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska and in his lawyer's office in Washington, D.C.