Rep. Jeff Fortenberry resigns after being found guilty of lying to FBI
Source: Washington Post
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) arrives at his trial in Los Angeles on March 16. (Jae C. Hong/AP)
Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) said Saturday he will resign from Congress after he was convicted Thursday on three felony counts for lying to federal investigators about illegal campaign contributions from a foreign billionaire. In a letter to his House colleagues, Fortenberry said his last day in Congress will be March 31.
“It has been my honor to serve with you in the United States House of Representatives,” Fortenberry wrote. “It has been my pleasure to call many of you friends. May God bless you as you labor for the good of our country, help those in need, and strive for what is right and just.” Fortenberry’s charges stem from a 2016 fundraiser held in Glendale, Calif., for the congressman’s reelection. There, Fortenberry received donations totaling $30,200 from Gilbert Chagoury, a wealthy Nigerian business executive of Lebanese descent who used other people as conduits to make the contributions, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California announced in October.
Foreign nationals are prohibited from donating to candidates running for federal office in the United States. It is also illegal to disguise a donor’s identity through third-party contributions. Fortenberry was convicted of one count of scheming to falsify and conceal material facts and two counts of making false statements to federal investigators. Each of the counts carries a maximum penalty of five years in federal prison.
Fortenberry’s week-long trial in Los Angeles concluded with a guilty verdict announced after two hours of deliberations on Thursday, the Associated Press reported. The congressman — who has maintained his innocence since being charged in October — said he planned to appeal the verdict. His defense team argued that authorities had used deceptive investigative tactics to indict the congressman.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/26/fortenberry-resigns-lying-fbi/
= new reply since forum marked as read
considering IOKIYAR to be convicted and soon-to-be-sentenced yet be permitted to remain in office anyway. 
Last edited Sat Mar 26, 2022, 07:07 PM - Edit history (1)
I think NE-2 (which includes Omaha) would have to be the one to need to flip as a R+1.
(edit to correct party of the 2 Senators! 
rsdsharp)
(I actually was just looking at that elsewhere) 
... is he okay? The man is not following the routine... lie, conceal, lie, appeal, lie, delay, lie, scream "Hoax!" and "Witch Hunt!" - and stay in office like you're a dictator.
He still shouldn't be allowed to vote on anything, though.
(and then go find Nunes and lock him up too with the rest of them) 
Wasn't sure which district you were in!
By Aaron Katersky
March 25, 2022, 2:49 PM
Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images
Lev Parnas, a former associate of Rudy Giuliani who was previously convicted on campaign finance charges, pleaded guilty Friday to a wire fraud conspiracy charge that resulted from his work at a startup insurance company he co-founded.Federal prosecutors accused 50-year-old Parnas of duping investors in Fraud Guarantee, a company he established in Florida with a co-defendant, David Correia, who previously pleaded guilty.
Parnas appeared by video in front of U.S. District Judge Paul Oetken in Manhattan and said "between approximately 2012 and 2019 I agreed with another person to give false information" to potential investors."I'm extremely sorry for my actions, your honor," Parnas said. Parnas and Correia tried to lure potential investors to Fraud Guarantee by hiring Giuliani as a pitchman, according to federal prosecutors. Giuliani has said he was paid $500,000.
Parnas briefly became a figure in the first congressional impeachment inquiry against former President Donald Trump in connection with his role in assisting Giuliani in his effort in Ukraine to find disparaging information about President Joe Biden and his family, as well to call for the ouster of then-U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch. At least seven victims invested a total of more than $2 million in Fraud Guarantee because Parnas and Correia misled them about the financial arrangements.
The majority of investor funds were withdrawn as cash and were spent on personal expenditures such as Parnas' rent, prosecutors said. "Various representations he made to investors were material to obtaining funds," Assistant U.S. Attorney Nicholas Roos said. Parnas was previously convicted of six other counts. On the wire fraud conspiracy, he faces at least five years in prison when he's sentenced June 29.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/lev-parnas-associate-rudy-giuliani-pleads-guilty-wire/story?id=83673598
And the DeSantis connection -
By Gray Rohrer and Steven Lemongello
Orlando Sentinel |
Nov 15, 2019 at 1:50 PM
Ron DeSantis as Florida governor-elect, thanks Ukrainian-born businessman Lev Parnas of Boca Raton while Parnas' partner Igor Fruman takes a photo, on election night in November.
Lev Parnas, the Ukrainian-American tied to Rudy Giuliani and under indictment for campaign finance fraud, met with Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis at least six times and had other encounters beyond that, the governor’s office confirmed to the Orlando Sentinel.
The number of interactions is more than previously reported by Florida news outlets asking questions for weeks about the governor’s ties to the Parnas and his business partner Igor Fruman. The duo also has been tied to the Ukraine scandal that has led to House impeachment hearings of President Trump.
DeSantis has refused to talk about his encounters with the two South Florida businessmen beyond an initial brief description of them, even though Parnas repeatedly contacted his campaign and sought meetings with DeSantis. Now Parnas and Fruman face charges of illegally funneling foreign money into U.S. campaigns.
DeSantis’ office stressed that the governor had no knowledge of their alleged crimes and immediately gave the $50,000 they had contributed to DeSantis’ campaign to the U.S. Treasury after news broke of their arrests.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/politics/os-ne-desantis-parnas-fruman-20191115-ex5bvk6ezfavxgksokpnjoldty-story.html
were like Tweedledee and Tweedledum. 
and during the latter part of that time, was planning to run for Rubio's seat for Senate when Rubio ran for President (but dropped out of that race when Rubio fell out of the clown car and decided to run for his old Senate seat again).
He only became governor of FL starting in 2019.
considering that they like to flaunt their criminality.
Fortenberry served in Congress for another 3 terms, and God knows how much Repuke evil he continued to create during that time. There has to be a way to "catch & kill" these guys sooner. Like for example: Gotcha: you can no longer run for Congress and you're gone baby! The results need to be instantaneous or they will never pay attention.
OK they caught him, NOW lock him up.
