Posted on 12/26/2023 4:13:01 PM PST by gopno1
A federal appeals court on Tuesday reversed former Nebraska congressman Jeff Fortenberry's three felony convictions, agreeing with Fortenberry's argument that the trial should not have taken place in California.
Fortenberry was convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles in 2022 on one count of concealing conduit campaign contributions and two counts of lying to federal agents, all felonies. The charges stemmed from Fortenberry allegedly accepting an illegal campaign donation from billionaire Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury at a 2016 fundraiser and then lying about the donation during later interviews with FBI agents.
On Tuesday, a panel of three judges with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals issued an 27-page opinion reversing Fortenberry's convictions "without prejudice to retrial in proper venue," meaning Fortenberry could be tried again in Nebraska or Washington, DC., where the interviews with FBI agents took place.
McKewon: Matt Rhule has recruited a bright future for Nebraska — just don't overlook 2024 Nebraska two-sport athlete Maggie Mendelson enters transfer portal Omaha in winter storm watch; blizzard warning issued for central, northeast Nebraska Husker notes: Trev Alberts on Ndamukong Suh's NIL interests, 'emergency' NCAA vote in January Prosecutors had argued that holding the trial in California was proper because the fundraiser at which Fortenberry allegedly accepted the illegal donation was in Los Angeles, and because the agents investigating the case were based in California. But the appeals court found that wasn't enough to satisfy the constitutional right for a criminal defendant to be tried in the place where the crime occurred.
"Fortenberry's trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed," the conclusion of the opinion reads. "The Constitution does not permit this. Fortenberry's convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue."
The facts that led to Fortenberry’s now-overturned convictions began with the 2016 fundraiser, at which Fortenberry raised $36,000 for his re-election campaign, according to court documents. But prosecutors said almost all of that money – $30,000 – was provided by Chagoury, a foreign national, and then distributed amongst fundraiser attendees who acted as conduit donors.
During a 2018 phone call that was listened in on by an FBI agent, according to court documents, a friend of Fortenberry who helped organize the first fundraiser explicitly mentioned Chagoury’s illegal donations while discussing the potential for another fundraiser with Fortenberry.
But when interviewed by FBI agents about Chagoury twice in 2019, Fortenberry denied any knowledge of the $30,000 contribution, according to court documents.
Listen now and subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Google Podcasts | Spotify | RSS Feed | Omny Studio Attorneys for Fortenberry fought for the trial to be moved from California to Nebraska almost immediately after the October 2021 indictment. Soon after the indictment was filed, Fortenberry filed a motion to dismiss the case for lack of venue and later to transfer the venue to Nebraska, both of which were denied.
Following his conviction, Fortenberry was sentenced to two years of probation, 320 hours of community service and a $25,000 fine.
Fortenberry and his wife, Celeste Fortenberry, praised the court’s decision Tuesday.
“We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit’s decision,” Jeff Fortenberry said in a statement. “Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship.”
Thom Mrozek, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles, noted that the appellate court left a path open for future proceedings against Fortenberry.
“The ruling does not preclude a retrial on the charges that then-Congressman Fortenberry made multiple false statements to federal agents,” Mrozek said in a statement. “We are evaluating potential next steps before deciding how best to move forward.”
Patricia Hartman, a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, declined to comment on the ruling’s potential impact for federal prosecutors in Washington.
This report contains material from the Associated Press.
My apologies for the irrelevant information included in there. I posted from my phone and didn’t notice it to delete it.
Our "government" has ENDLESS amounts of money to re-try its victims, all while passing out $5,000 Visa cards to the illegal invaders.
It's only your money and my money.
Plus, zElensky needs $60 billion.
>>two counts of lying to federal agents
If you learned nothing else from the Martha Stewart case,
Don’t Talk to the Police
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d-7o9xYp7eE
Must watch 45m vid. Worth it. Watch it. Live it.
> lying about the donation during later interviews with FBI agents <
The FBI can lie to you. But it’s a crime if you lie to the FBI.
It’s too late for Mr. Fortenberry. But for everyone else, remember these magic words, “On the advice of my lawyer, I will remain silent.”
And now an excellent video from a law school professor. “Don’t Talk to the Police”.
https://youtu.be/d-7o9xYp7eE?si=ysYB99nqZgmXJjME
Why did they prosecute him in California? The process is the punishment? He gets to pay for another trial on substantively the same charges? Does that set up for another appeal on 5th Amendment (double-jeopardy) grounds? Does he get his attorney’s fees back from the first trial?
So, accepting the illegal foreign contribution while in California is not enough to pursue charges in California?
Just tell them that you are recording the interview and they will slither away ... they can lie if there is no tape ... especially when there are two of them and one of you.
As I understand it, it was not "a donation from billionaire Nigerian businessman Gilbert Chagoury" but several small donations from other individuals allegedly passing along money they, not the congressman, had received from Chagouri. All his campaign would know is the names of the actual donors not who passed the money to them. Chagouri by the way, was a big Clinton Foundation donor and to my knowledge the FBI spent no serious time investigating Chagouri's donations to Clinton or prosecuting the Clintons, or anyone else on the receiving end of Chagouri money... And according to one article, the accusations against Chagouri may have been like the Russian collusion accusations. I haven't followed the stories on this congresscritter or Chagouri but anything involving the Los Angeles field office probably needs a skeptical second look.
You are so correct! One thing the last couple of years have taught me, the FBI is not your friend! I would not talk to them or the local police! I have told my family to never talk to the police without and attorney.
What happened to the rule where if the crime was done by a Republican the party affiliation is mentioned in the first few sentences? I read the article three times and missed that he was a Republican. I thought he was a Democrat for sure.
** The conviction was thrown out because he was tried in the incorrect state.
** Who and why was that decision made? Probable answers: Democrats and easier to get a conviction.
** Result: conviction and resignation of a Republican from Congress.
** what is the purpose of ‘Lawfare’? Answer: to gain political advantages for Democrats.
** was that goal attained? Answer: yes
** so who really won in this case?
^5, and I beat you by 7 seconds, LOL!
It’s just nice to see the law followed. They may re-try him and even get a conviction. Who knows? In any event, if the government got it wrong, it’s nice to see the appellate court correct it. Nothing more, nothing less.
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