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Rep. (NE-1) Jeff Fortenberry (R) announces resignation
Jeff Fortenberry announces resignation
Kelsey Stewart Mar 26, 2022 Updated 10 min ago
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry announced his resignation Saturday, two days after being convicted on three felonies and one day after top leaders called for his resignation. JAE C. HONG, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry announced his resignation Saturday, two days after being convicted of three felonies and one day after top leaders called for his resignation. In a statement released Saturday, Fortenberry said he can no longer effectively serve "due to the difficulties" of his current circumstances. He will resign from Congress on March 31.
A federal jury in Los Angeles deliberated less than two hours Thursday evening before finding the nine-term congressman guilty of lying to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 campaign donation from a Nigerian billionaire.Fortenberry was convicted on one count of concealing conduit campaign contributions and two counts of lying to federal agents.Fortenberry, 61, is the highest-ranking elected official in Nebraska history to be convicted of a felony.
He already was facing a challenge in the May Republican primary from State Sen. Mike Flood. Among those calling for Fortenberry to resign Friday were Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts. U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A special election will be held no later than 90 days after Fortenberry’s seat becomes vacant.
Felons are eligible to run for and serve in Congress, but the vast majority choose to resign under threat of expulsion. Congressional rules also bar members from voting on legislation after a felony conviction unless their constituents reelect them, the Associated Press reported.
https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/jeff-fortenberry-announces-resignation/article_c72670b0-ad46-11ec-8b33-53c4b2fd5910.html
Kelsey Stewart Mar 26, 2022 Updated 10 min ago
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry announced his resignation Saturday, two days after being convicted on three felonies and one day after top leaders called for his resignation. JAE C. HONG, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry announced his resignation Saturday, two days after being convicted of three felonies and one day after top leaders called for his resignation. In a statement released Saturday, Fortenberry said he can no longer effectively serve "due to the difficulties" of his current circumstances. He will resign from Congress on March 31.
A federal jury in Los Angeles deliberated less than two hours Thursday evening before finding the nine-term congressman guilty of lying to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 campaign donation from a Nigerian billionaire.Fortenberry was convicted on one count of concealing conduit campaign contributions and two counts of lying to federal agents.Fortenberry, 61, is the highest-ranking elected official in Nebraska history to be convicted of a felony.
He already was facing a challenge in the May Republican primary from State Sen. Mike Flood. Among those calling for Fortenberry to resign Friday were Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts. U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A special election will be held no later than 90 days after Fortenberry’s seat becomes vacant.
Felons are eligible to run for and serve in Congress, but the vast majority choose to resign under threat of expulsion. Congressional rules also bar members from voting on legislation after a felony conviction unless their constituents reelect them, the Associated Press reported.
https://omaha.com/news/state-and-regional/govt-and-politics/jeff-fortenberry-announces-resignation/article_c72670b0-ad46-11ec-8b33-53c4b2fd5910.html
Time to get Issa for the same thing.
13 replies
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and I'm sure he'll prove it by voting in the next election even though he is now a convicted felon. 
they were working on this group as I posted here - https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1014&pid=2893744
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/04/straw-donor-scheme-foreign-billionaire/
So 2 of the 3 current or former GOP Congressmen from Nebraska have been tied to this scheme (the "former" being Lee Terry who was defeated in the 2014 election).
It's time to take Issa down for once and for all.
ETA - here is one of the OPs where I posted that and that targeted Issa - https://www.democraticunderground.com/100216036798
Link to LBN OP when he was first indicted back in October - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142815227
Thanks for the research/links. It's mind boggling how insidious this mess is.
BTW- 
Good to see you! 
And agree it's all been a big mess since Citizen's United. The dirty money has really exploded since. 
And good to see you too!!!! 
Indictment OP - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142815227 (back in October)
Conviction OP - https://www.democraticunderground.com/10142893624 (this past Thursday)
Usually they manage to force delays and in this case, it was 5 months from indictment to trial/conviction (and that was during the peak of Omicron to boot). 
Who is the Nigerian billionaire at the heart of Fortenberry's indictment?
Sara Gentzler Oct 24, 2021 Updated Dec 31, 2021
Chagoury
At the center of allegations against Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who was indicted this week by a federal grand jury, is a 75-year-old Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent named Gilbert Chagoury. For reasons that remain publicly unclear, Chagoury funneled $30,000 to the Nebraska congressman, who is charged with three felonies related to an ensuing FBI investigation. It is not the first time Chagoury, who lives in Paris and is a player on the international stage, has sought to purchase influence or been linked to corruption.
“Chagoury is not a household name in Nebraska, but he’s certainly a household name in Nigeria,” Matthew T. Page, a former State Department expert on Nigeria, said in a phone interview this week. The tycoon is well-known among people who look into corruption challenges around the world and among people who know about some of the most “corrupt episodes in recent Nigerian political history,” Page said.
Chagoury’s role of adviser to a notorious Nigerian dictator in the 1990s is well-documented, and he has had other brushes with scandal since. Page said he didn’t expect to see a Nigerian — and especially not this particular Nigerian — at the center of the story about Fortenberry’s alleged crimes. But, he said, it demonstrates that “dodgy lobbying” or “dodgy connections” between foreign figures who have been implicated in corruption and U.S. officials happen more often than one might think.
Chagoury, the oldest of eight children whose father emigrated from Lebanon to West Africa, was not born into wealth, according to a PBS Frontline story. He went into business with his father-in-law. Later he went into business with his brother, according to Frontline. Chagoury’s family now controls a conglomerate of businesses that includes construction companies, flour mills, insurance, water bottling and purification, hotels — the list is sprawling.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/04/straw-donor-scheme-foreign-billionaire/
Sara Gentzler Oct 24, 2021 Updated Dec 31, 2021
Chagoury
At the center of allegations against Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, who was indicted this week by a federal grand jury, is a 75-year-old Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent named Gilbert Chagoury. For reasons that remain publicly unclear, Chagoury funneled $30,000 to the Nebraska congressman, who is charged with three felonies related to an ensuing FBI investigation. It is not the first time Chagoury, who lives in Paris and is a player on the international stage, has sought to purchase influence or been linked to corruption.
“Chagoury is not a household name in Nebraska, but he’s certainly a household name in Nigeria,” Matthew T. Page, a former State Department expert on Nigeria, said in a phone interview this week. The tycoon is well-known among people who look into corruption challenges around the world and among people who know about some of the most “corrupt episodes in recent Nigerian political history,” Page said.
Chagoury’s role of adviser to a notorious Nigerian dictator in the 1990s is well-documented, and he has had other brushes with scandal since. Page said he didn’t expect to see a Nigerian — and especially not this particular Nigerian — at the center of the story about Fortenberry’s alleged crimes. But, he said, it demonstrates that “dodgy lobbying” or “dodgy connections” between foreign figures who have been implicated in corruption and U.S. officials happen more often than one might think.
Chagoury, the oldest of eight children whose father emigrated from Lebanon to West Africa, was not born into wealth, according to a PBS Frontline story. He went into business with his father-in-law. Later he went into business with his brother, according to Frontline. Chagoury’s family now controls a conglomerate of businesses that includes construction companies, flour mills, insurance, water bottling and purification, hotels — the list is sprawling.
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2021/04/straw-donor-scheme-foreign-billionaire/
