LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) – A former Nebraska congressman says he wants to prove his innocence and clear his name.
That didn’t happen the last time Jeff Fortenberry was before a jury.
But an appeals court rejected that his beliefbelieving that the trial should have taken place where the alleged crimes occurred – not in Los Angeles.
Both the government and Fortenberry’s attorneys filed a flurry of paperwork this week, hoping the judge will side with them on what is and isn’t allowed in the new trial.
6 News sat through a week of testimony in the federal courtroom in Los Angeles two years ago, and based on what we’ve read so far, the retrial in Washington, DC, won’t be all that different.
Fortenberry served as a Nebraska congressman for 18 years and resigned in 2022 after a California jury found him guilty of lying to the FBI about illegal campaign contributions. The federal judge sentenced him to probation instead of prison.
But almost a year ago, the appeals court threw out the conviction – not because of the evidence, but because of where the trial took place.
While the campaign fundraiser — in which Fortenberry reportedly received a $30,000 cash donation from a Nigerian billionaire — took place in California, the alleged false statements Fortenberry made to the FBI took place at his home in Lincoln, Neb., and his office in Washington, DC.
So the government has indicted him again, and this time the trial will take place in Washington, DC. The trial will begin on February 3.
“To be accused of this is extremely painful,” Fortenberry said in 2021.
Based on new lawsuits, both sides are trying to keep things said or done during the first trial out of this trial.
The government wants the court to stop Fortenberry from using inflammatory rhetoric that he is being persecuted by politicians. In 2022, outside the federal courthouse in LA, Fortenberry said: “We’re in a very strange place, aren’t we? This isn’t Nebraska.’
The defense has asked the judge to dismiss the case, and if it does go to trial, they have asked to prevent the government from using certain technology: scrolling transcripts that add words to Fortenberry’s audio during his interview in Lincoln; and telephone conversations with a government informant.
The government says Fortenberry chose pride over honesty all along, and they wanted to make him an example to other government officials.
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