A federal appeals court panel on Tuesday threw out the conviction of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) for lying to the FBI about illegal campaign contributions.
The three-judge panel of the San Francisco-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled unanimously that Fortenberry was wrongly tried in Los Angeles, rather than Nebraska or Washington, DC.
Fortenberry, 62, resigned his House seat following his conviction in March 2022 for withholding information and making false statements to federal authorities.
The former legislator was sentenced in June of that year to two years of probation, 320 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine.
“The Constitution clearly requires that a criminal defendant be tried in the place where the criminal conduct occurred,” U.S. District Judge James Donato wrote for the panel.
Jeff Fortenberry denied any wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty in the case. REUTERS
“Fortenberry’s trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed, and before a jury empaneled in close proximity to the federal agencies that investigated the defendant,” he added. “The Constitution does not allow it. Fortenberry’s convictions are reversed so that he can be tried again, if anything, in a suitable venue.”
“We are pleased with the Ninth Circuit’s decision,” Fortenberry said in a statement released by his attorneys.
“Celeste and I want to thank everyone who supported us with their kindness and friendship.”
The FBI interviewed Jeff Fortenberry in 2019. Getty Images
Fortenberry was accused of concealing illegal contributions made to his 2016 House campaign by Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, who prosecutors say transferred about $30,000 through straw donors who attended a fundraiser in Los Angels.
Federal law prohibits foreigners from donating to political campaigns.
A co-host of the fundraiser, Chagoury, and an associate of his who provided the $30,000 to the straw donors cooperated with authorities.
Jeff Fortenberry could be tried again. AP
In March 2019, Fortenberry allegedly told FBI investigators at his home in Lincoln, Nebraska, that he was unaware of any contributions from foreign nationals to his campaign, even though the fundraiser’s co-host told him in June earlier than the $30,000 in question “It probably came from Gilbert Chagoury.
Fortenberry repeated in July 2019, during a second FBI interview in Washington, that he was not aware of any illegal contributions to his campaign.
“[T]There are certainly crimes that can be prosecuted when their effects are felt,” Donato wrote in the panel’s ruling. “But those situations are markedly different from a [false statements] crime, for which no law or universal recognition allows a prosecution where the effects of a statement are felt.”
Judges on the appeals panel included Donato, an Obama appointee, as well as Salvador Mendoza Jr. and Gabriel Sánchez, both Biden appointees.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn