Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., on Saturday introduced that he would resign from Congress, saying in a press release to constituents, “Due to the difficulties of my current circumstances, I can no longer serve you effectively.”
Fortenberry, 61, was convicted by a federal jury in Los Angeles on Thursday of 1 depend of scheming to falsify and conceal materials info and two counts of constructing false statements to federal investigators.
Each depend carries a most penalty of 5 years in jail, in addition to fines. He stated outdoors the courthouse that he would enchantment.
In a letter to his colleagues within the House of Representatives, Fortenberry stated he will resign from Congress efficient March 31.
Jane Fleming Kleeb, chair of the Democratic Party in Nebraska, tweeted that “a special election will now be held” for Fortenberry’s District 1 seat.
The authorities’s case towards Fortenberry concerned a $30,000 contribution to his 2016 re-election marketing campaign from Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury. Foreign nationals are prohibited from contributing to federal candidates.
Prosecutors stated Chagoury used “straw donors” to make a contribution equaling $30,000 to Fortenberry’s re-election marketing campaign throughout a Los Angeles fundraiser in 2016.
Chagoury had entered right into a deferred prosecution settlement in 2019 below which he spoke about offering about $180,000 in unlawful contributions to 4 candidates in U.S. elections.
Prosecutors efficiently argued at Fortenberry’s seven-day trial that he lied to investigators on two events when he was requested in interviews what he knew concerning the donations.
Zoë Richards contributed.