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Support Joe Collins for Congress!Congressman Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) will resign from Congress effective March 31.
Fortenberry's resignation follows his conviction on three felony counts last week for lying to the FBI about illegal campaign contributions.
As Mediaite reports:
The conviction stems from a 2016 fundraiser Fortenberry held for his reelection during which he received about $30,000 from straw donors compensated by Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, who is prohibited from contributing to campaigns as a foreign national.
It is additionally illegal to disguise a donor's identity by funneling contributions through a third-party.
Two other Republicans, Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Lee Terry (R-Neb.) received illegal donations funded by Chagoury. However, neither received charges because they told investigators the truth.
Fortenberry's announcement came two days after House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) called for his resignation.
Politico adds:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on Friday suggested Fortenberry should resign from Congress, indicating he would talk with the congressman that day.
“I think when someone's convicted, it's time to resign,” McCarthy told reporters on the final day of the House GOP retreat. The news shocked many of Fortenberry's colleagues who cited the nine-term congressman's commitment to his faith.
Fortenberry has represented Nebraska's 1st District, anchored in Lincoln, in the House of Representatives since 2005.
Pundits expect the seat to remain in Republican hands.
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I’m so tired of the “process crimes” that only exist because of the investigation. If someone committed a crime then charge them, but stop with the sleazy setups where you try to catch them lying or misremembering something. I’d love to see the defense attorney be able to dig into an FBI agent’s past then grill her on the stand to see what she remembers about something from a year or five ago.
If lying was taken seriously Congress and the President would all be in prison.
And yet Obama didn’t resign. The non-reporting of donations less than $200 dollars combined with no Capta test (are you a human) on his donor page made it possible for foreign countries (China) to use automation to repeatedly donate $199 to his campaign thousands of times an hour. Today we can track such behavior, so Biden just did it the simple way – through his son Hunter.