Rep. Jim Jordan’s letter questions former NE Rep. Jeff Fortenberry’s prosecution

LINCOLN — Ohio U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan, chair of the House Judiciary Committee, sent a letter Thursday to federal prosecutors in California implying that his committee will dig into whether the prosecution of former Nebraska U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was politically motivated. 

The letter seeks answers to allegations by Fortenberry’s lawyers that authorities pursued him for political reasons when they charged him with lying to FBI agents about his knowledge of illegal foreign contributions to his campaign in 2016.

“There are serious concerns about the Department’s abusive tactics in its prosecution of Representative Fortenberry,” Jordan wrote on Judiciary Committee letterhead. It asks the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles to preserve records tied to decision-making in the case.

Federal prosecutors have denied any political motivations, pointing to prosecutions of two Democratic members of Congress. 

The letter said Fortenberry’s former attorney accused the lead prosecutor of “misleading him” about the then-congressman’s role as a witness, subject or target of the investigation. Fortenberry’s current attorney did not return calls Thursday seeking comment. 

Fortenberry was convicted in 2022 of concealing those foreign donations and lying to federal agents about whether he knew the donations were illegal, based on recorded conversations with FBI agents and a federal informant helping the congressman raise campaign funds. 

Next round of charges loom

An appeals court overturned his conviction in December 2023 because prosecutors charged him in California, where his fundraiser took place, and not in Nebraska or Washington, D.C, where Fortenberry allegedly lied to the FBI in interviews.

The appeals court opinion made plain that any charges would need to be filed where the alleged crimes occurred. Had he been charged with a crime at the fundraiser, they wrote, the trial could have taken place in California.

A Los Angeles-area jury found Fortenberry guilty of three felonies after about two hours of deliberation. He was sentenced to probation and community service and was fined. 

Prosecutors had sought a six-month prison sentence, arguing that Fortenberry repeatedly lied about the source of $30,000 in foreign campaign contributions.

Nigerian-Lebanese billionaire Gilbert Chagoury was the source of the foreign money given to Fortenberry’s campaign, which an informant told Fortenberry in a call after the L.A. fundraiser. Fortenberry had claimed ignorance to the FBI.

Defense attorneys blamed Fortenberry’s memory and maintained that his statements, false or not, were immaterial to the FBI’s broader investigation of the illegal donations. They said he shouldn’t have been charged. 

Jordan told Politico in 2021 that the case against Fortenberry looked like a “setup.”

Chagoury admitted making the illegal donations and was fined $1.8 million. Fortenberry supported the mission of Chagoury’s organization, In Defense of Christians, which protects Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

Fortenberry’s critics say he knew

Critics of Fortenberry’s have said he knew the rules and took the money anyway. He resigned from office and was replaced in a special election by then-State Sen. Mike Flood. Some local political observers have speculated that Fortenberry  might look to run again.

Jordan’s letter questions the Justice Department’s decision to refile charges in Washington. Some local and national political observers expect the Justice Department to reverse course on prosecuting Fortenberry once President-elect Donald Trump takes office.

This is the latest move by House Republicans telegraphing their intention to probe whether any prosecutions of Trump or other Republicans by the Justice Department under President Joe Biden might have been pursued for political reasons. The investigation of Fortenberry began under the Trump administration. He was charged when Biden was president.

House Democrats have argued that this push risks politicizing agencies they say have been doing the independent work of enforcing the law. They point to statements by some in the GOP saying they want to target their political enemies.

Jordan is a close ally of Trump, and Trump has commented more than once  on Fortenberry’s case, describing it during a 2022 political rally in Nebraska as “very unfair.” He also criticized the case during a rally in Michigan in 2021. 

“Isn’t it terrible that a Republican congressman from Nebraska … got indicted for possibly telling some lies to investigators about campaign contributions, when half of the United States Congress lied about made up scams,” Trump said.

The Justice Department declined to comment Thursday about the letter. The next major hearings in Fortenberry’s case are set for late January and the jury trial is scheduled for early February.