Despite a three-judge panel tossing out the 2022 conviction of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., on charges of lying to the FBI, the U.S. attorney's office made clear to Newsmax that it is not finished retrying the embattled Fortenberry.
"To my knowledge, a retrial is still under discussion," a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Los Angeles told Newsmax.
In what critics have called an example of the FBI and Department of Justice "going rogue" and pursuing a dubious case against a government official, the jurists found that Fortenberry should not have been tried in Los Angeles when the alleged lying to federal agents occurred in Nebraska and Washington, D.C. — a clear violation of U.S. code and an embarrassment for prosecutors.
But prosecutors clearly have not given up on pursuit of Fortenberry.
In March 2022, a California jury convicted Fortenberry on two counts of lying to or misleading federal agents and one count of concealing an illegal campaign donation by failing to report it. He resigned from office effective March 31, 2022.
The Nebraskan was sentenced to two years probation, a $25,000 fine, and 320 hours of community service.
Sources close to Fortenberry told us he spent an estimated $1 million defending himself in court since FBI agents came to his Lincoln, Nebraska, home in March 2019 to discuss whether $30,000 in donations from overseas sources were made to his campaign at a fundraising event three years before.
During his trial, federal agents played a recording of Fortenberry talking in June 2018 with Dr. Elias Ayoub, who organized the fundraising event and told the congressman the $30,000 was likely illegal and that if another event were held, "the amounts won't be as large because Gilbert [Chagoury] won't be involved." Chagoury, a Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire with a long record of involvement in U.S. politics, is a major supporter of Bill and Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation.
Fortenberry and his lawyers contended that he misheard, forgot, or had a bad connection in the call when Ayoub indicated the contributions were illegal.
As it turned out, Ayoub's call was orchestrated by FBI agents who, according to documents submitted in court, "told Dr. Ayoub what to say and made a complete contemporaneous recording."
The three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals who set aside the verdict called it "an outlandish outcome that cannot be squared with the Constitution" and reminded prosecutors that a trial "must be held where the crime was committed."
The U.S. attorney's office hinted it might seek the overturning of the panel's ruling by an en banc procedure — an appeal to the active judges on the full 9th Circuit. And the spokesman for the prosecutors indicated they had not ruled out a retrial and told reporters: "We are evaluating potential next steps before deciding how best to move forward."
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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