2 years ago
A federal jury has found Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) guilty on three felony counts in a case charging him with making false statements to the FBI about his knowledge of campaign donations made with funds from a foreign national.
The jury returned the verdicts after less than three hours of deliberations following a weeklong trial in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reported.
Prosecutors said Fortenberry lied to investigators when he denied knowing that a Lebanese-Nigerian businessman, Gilbert Chagoury, donated about $30,000 to his campaign through intermediaries at a 2016 fundraiser in Glendale, Calif.
Fortenberry’s defense argued that he might have been distracted or had a poor phone connection when the organizer of that fundraiser told him about the source of the funds. He did not take the stand in his own defense.
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