OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A federal judge on Monday rejected U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s attempts to dismiss charges accusing the Nebraska Republican of making false statements to FBI agents who were investigating an illegal foreign donation to his campaign.
U.S. District Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr. denied Fortenberry's motions to get the case tossed, increasing the odds that he will have to stand trial in a Los Angeles federal court.
Fortenberry is accused of lying to the FBI and concealing information from agents who were looking into a donation his campaign received from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent. Chagoury made the $30,000 contribution through a middleman at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles.
Agents interviewed Fortenberry twice, and prosecutors allege that the nine-term Congressman falsely told them he was unaware that the donation had come from an illegal foreign source and that he had properly disclosed all of his campaign donations. Prosecutors allege that Fortenberry was warned in a phone call that the donation was illegal and that he didn't properly disclose them in his campaign filings.
Fortenberry was first elected to Nebraska's heavily Republican 1st Congressional District in 2004 and he has easily defeated his Democratic challengers over the years. Some Democrats argue that the indictment makes him more vulnerable in the district, which includes left-leaning Lincoln as well as surrounding farmland and more conservative small towns...
Schubert Jonckheer & Kolbe LLP advises Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) investors that the firm is investigating potential legal claims arising from alleged false and misleading statements about the co...