Fortenberry’s resignation will create a vacancy in the 1st Congressional District of Nebraska, and Gov. Pete Ricketts, a Republican, will call a special election. Fortenberry, 61, was found guilty Thursday of leaking information and making false statements to federal authorities in connection with an investigation investigating illegal contributions to his 2016 re-election campaign. “Because of the difficulties of my current circumstances, I can no longer serve effectively,” Fortenberry said in a letter to supporters. Fortenbury has been pressured to resign following the sentencing, with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Republican leader Kevin McCarthy publicly urging him to step down. “I think he spent his day in court. I think if he wants to appeal, he can go and do it as an individual,” McCarthy said Friday. “But I think when someone is convicted, it’s time to give up.” Last fall, before the indictment was announced, Fortenberry said in a video uploaded to YouTube that “about five and a half years ago, someone from abroad was illegally transferring money to my campaign.” But the Nebraska Republican said he “knew nothing about it.” The indictment alleges that an anonymous person, referred to as “Individual H” in the document, acted as co-organizer of a 2016 fundraiser for Fortenberry. According to the indictment, Fortenberry contacted this person in the spring of 2018 to discuss hosting another event. The court document states that during a call in June 2018, the fundraiser’s co-founder told Fortenberry that the $ 30,000 donations “probably” came from a foreign national. Campaigns are prohibited from receiving contributions from foreign nationals, according to the Federal Election Commission. However, the indictment states that “despite the fact that defendant Fortenberry was informed of the illegal donations, he did not submit an amended report to the FEC regarding the 2016 fundraiser” and “did not return or otherwise attempt to eliminate the contributions”. The indictment goes on to say that “it was only after the FBI and USAO interview in July 2019 that defendant Fortenberry rejected the contributions.” Fortenberry’s sentence is scheduled for June 28. Each charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. This story has been updated with additional history information.
