U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) has denied lying to investigators and has said he was unaware of the true origins of the money. | Andrew Harnik/AP Photo, file
12/13/2021 05:18 PM EST
A lawyer for Rep. Jeff Fortenberry said Monday that the Nebraska Republican was being targeted for political reasons in a federal prosecution on charges of making false statements during an investigation into campaign finance violations, including raising funds from a foreign donor.
“Our core defense in this case will be that this prosecution is a political prosecution,” Fortenberry’s lead defense attorney, John Littrell, said during a hearing in federal court in Los Angeles.
Fortenberry was indicted in October on three felony charges of lying during an FBI interview at his home in March 2019 and about four months later in a meeting in Washington with agents and federal prosecutors. The questioning at both sessions focused on a February 2016 fundraiser in Glendale, Calif., where Fortenberry received $30,000 in funds that prosecutors say originated with a billionaire who lives in Paris and is not eligible to donate to U.S. campaigns, Gilbert Chagoury.
Fortenberry has denied lying to investigators and has said he was unaware of the true origins of the money. However, prosecutors say that in a 2018 phone call that the FBI recorded, the host of the fundraiser told the congressman of the illicit nature of the gifts.
Monday’s hourlong hearing before U.S. District Court Judge...
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