Free Republic

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...

Just hours after a judge sentences an ex-congressman from Nebraska for lying to federal agents, voters in his district are expected to elect a different conservative Republican to represent the GOP-dominated district. Former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry will learn Tuesday in a Los Angeles courtroom whether he'll get prison time for misleading the FBI about $30,000 in illegal, foreign contributions to his campaign. Back in Nebraska, voters in the nine-term Republican's district will head to the polls to pick a new representative. Two state lawmakers, Republican Mike Flood and Democrat Patty Pansing Brooks, are running for the seat in the...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska was convicted Thursday on charges that he lied to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 contribution to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 Los Angeles fundraiser. A federal jury in LA deliberated about two hours before finding the nine-term Republican guilty of one count of falsifying and concealing material facts and two counts of making false statements. Fortenberry was charged after sitting for two interviews with FBI agents who were investigating the donor, Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent. Fortenberry showed no emotion as the...

A little-known Republican congressman from Nebraska will begin a high-profile trial Wednesday in California over accusations by federal prosecutors that he lied about illegal campaign contributions from a Nigerian billionaire. The trial of U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry in Los Angeles will be the first of a sitting member of Congress in 21 years and could all but end the political career of a congressman seen as a reliable conservative who coasted to easy wins but isn't a familiar name outside of Nebraska.

No major reforms have taken place at the Department of Justice or FBI even as its politicized bungling of prosecutions and investigations has made major news.Jeff Fortenberry is not the person you’d expect to be charged with any crime, much less the crime of lying to the FBI. Painfully earnest, the Nebraska Republican congressman is a devout Roman Catholic who has a perfect pro-life voting record. He served on the powerful House Appropriations Committee, and has developed a reputation for activism on behalf of persecuted religious minorities in Iraq. It was that last focus that ended up getting him in...

In the wake of Sen. Ben Sasse's decision not to sign on to a formal endorsement of Trump's reelection by leading Nebraska Republicans, GOP primary challenger Matt Innis of Lincoln said he "will gladly support President Trump" and suggested that Nebraska Republicans should consider that difference when they vote next May. snip Innis responded: "A clear difference between my opponent and me is that he won't support our Republican candidate for president and I will. Nebraskans should consider that when they go to the polls." Sen. Deb Fischer, Reps. Jeff Fortenberry, Don Bacon and Adrian Smith, Gov. Pete Ricketts and...

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce and organizations funded by left-wing billionaire George Soros are bankrolling a plan to provide temporary amnesty to Venezuela’s population. Last week, the Democrat-controlled House passed a measure to create a Temporary Protected Status (TPS) program for Venezuela’s population — allowing nationals who are already in the U.S. to remain and incentivizing more to migrate. Thirty-nine House Republicans joined every Democrat to support the legislation, including: Rep. Don Bacon (R-NE) Rep. Michael Bost (R-IL) Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK) Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-TX) Rep. John Curtis (R-UT) Rep. Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL) Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) Rep. Brian...

The victory notched by tea party Republicans in the Nebraska Senate race was modest, but they'll take it in a season that has yielded few bright spots so far. Ben Sasse won the GOP nomination for the seat being vacated by Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Sasse was the closest thing to a tea party candidate in the three-man race, largely because he feuded last fall with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, the epitome of establishment Republicanism. But Sasse is hardly the out-of-right-field firebrand that some tea partyers cherish. A college president with degrees from Harvard and Yale, he worked for...

Midlands lawmakers are back home listening to constituents this August, with health care expected to dominate the discussion. Here's a listing of scheduled events at which the public can tell hear from their elected representatives on the issue. NEBRASKA Rep. Lee Terry, R-Neb. Saturday, Aug. 15, 8:30-10 a.m., Coffee with Lee, Homestyle Café, 8807 Maple Street Advertising Tuesday, Aug. 25, 6 p.m., Town Hall Meeting, Millard North High School Auditorium 144th and Pacific Streets Saturday, Aug. 29, 8-9:30 a.m., Coffee with Lee, Vidlacks Café, 156th and Bob Boozer Drive Sen. Mike Johanns, R-Neb. Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2:15 p.m. MDT, Meet...

HICKMAN -- Immigration, not Iraq. Questioning Rep. Jeff Fortenberry over coffee Thursday, a small gathering of his constituents swiftly changed the subject from the congressman’s opening remarks on Iraq and farm policy. Virginia Leacock of Lincoln, director of operations at Haven Manor in Hickman, triggered five straight questions on illegal immigration by raising her concerns about border security. Other topics raised during the hour-long meeting at Urban’s Creamery and Grill on Hickman Road included Medicare, Medicaid and agriculture. But no one asked, or expressed an opinion, about the war in Iraq. Fortenberry told the group the first focus of immigration...