The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit Tuesday cleared the conviction of ex-Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., ruling that his trial and conviction on charges of lying to the FBI about an illegal campaign contribution should not have been held in Los Angeles.
“Fortenberry’s trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed and before a jury drawn from the vicinage of the federal agencies that investigated the defendant," U.S. District Judge James Donato, who was on the appeals court by designation, commented about the ruling, The Hill reported.
Fortenberry was convicted by a jury in Los Angeles last year on charges that he had made false statements during interviews with the FBI and in Washington, D.C.
He resigned from Congress and was sentenced to pay a $25,000 fine, serve two years of probation, and perform 320 hours of community service.
While Tuesday's decision reversed the sentence, he can still be retried "in a proper venue," the opinion said.
Fortenberry was questioned when the FBI was investigating a $30,200 donation from a Nigerian businessman made to the congressman’s campaign during a 2016 fundraising event in California.
According to federal law, campaign contributions from foreign nationals are not allowed for any local, state, or federal official. However, Fortenberry wasn't charged for the contribution, but for making false statements and for scheming to falsify and conceal material facts.
He told investigators he did not know there were any illegal contributions to his campaign. However, court filings said investigators had listened in on a call during which a cooperating witness told Fortenberry the donation likely came from the Nigerian businessman.
Fortenberry was interviewed in his lawyer's office in Washington, D.C., and at his home in Lincoln, Neb.
The trial was allowed to move ahead in California, where a trial judge ruled that false statement violations can occur anywhere that they can affect a federal investigation, not only where the statements were made. The investigation into the contribution was handled by the FBI’s Los Angeles field office.
"We conclude that an effects-based test for the venue of a Section 1001 offense has no support in the Constitution, the text of the statute, or historical practice," wrote Donato, an appointee of former President Barack Obama. Circuit Judges Gabriel Sanchez and Salvador Mendoza Jr., both of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden, were also on the panel.
Fortenberry said he and his wife, Celeste, were "gratified by the Ninth Circuit's decision" and wanted to thank everyone who stood by them.
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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