US Representative Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., arrives in federal court for his trial in Los Angeles, earlier this month. Fortenberry was convicted on Thursday of lying to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 donation to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles. .
Jae C. Hong / AP
hide captions
switch captions
Jae C. Hong / AP
US Representative Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., arrives in federal court for his trial in Los Angeles, earlier this month. Fortenberry was convicted on Thursday of lying to federal authorities about an illegal $30,000 donation to his campaign from a foreign billionaire at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles. .
Jae C. Hong / AP
OMAHA, Neb. – U.S. Representative, Republican Jeff Fortenberry of Nebraska, resigned on Saturday after a grand jury in California. convict him of lying to the federal government about an illegal donation campaign from a foreign national.
In a letter to the House of Representatives, Fortenberry said he will resign from Congress, effective March 31.
“I am honored to serve with you in the United States House of Representatives,” he said in the letter. “Due to the difficulties of my current circumstances, I can no longer serve effectively.”
Fortenberry’s resignation letter opens with a poem, “Do It anyway,” in reference to Mother Teresa. One line in the poem reads: “What you spend years building, someone can destroy overnight. Let’s build somehow.”
Fortenberry’s announcement prompted concerted pressure from political leaders in Nebraska and Washington to force him to resign. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday urged Fortenberry to step down.
Nebraska Republican Governor Pete Ricketts said Fortenberry should “do the right thing for his voters” and leave the office he has held since 2005.
Fortenberry was indicted in October after authorities said he lie to the FBI agents in two separate interviews about his knowledge of an illegal $30,000 donation from his campaign from a foreign billionaire. Fortenberry was interviewed at his home in Lincoln, and then again with his attorneys present in Washington, D.C.
At the trial, prosecutors presented taped phone conversations in which Fortenberry was repeatedly warned that the donations came from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent. Donations were made through three straw people at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles.
Fortenberry’s Retreat from Main Leaving State Senator Mike Flood as a likely GOP candidate. The former Nebraska Legislature speaker, who has won endorsements from Ricketts and former Governor Dave Heineman, has a strong edge in the Republican-leaning 1st Congressional District. State Senator Patty Pansing Brooks, a Democrat from Lincoln, is also running for the seat.
Pansing Brooks said that Fortenberry’s conviction was a “wake-up call” that the district needed to change.
In a statement on Saturday, Pansing Brooks said: “This opens the door to a new approach to service (Congressional District 1). I am ready and able to meet that challenge and lead with integrity.”
