A jury is set to be picked Wednesday that will decide whether Rep. Jeff Fortenberry lied to federal authorities who were investigating illegal contributions to the Nebraska Republican’s 2016 reelection campaign.
Opening statements are also expected to begin Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, before Judge Stanley Blumenfeld Jr.
Fortenberry faces charges of lying to FBI agents and other federal investigators who interviewed him as part of a wider inquiry into Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, a man who illegally funneled foreign money into U.S. political campaigns. It is illegal for foreign nationals, such as Chagoury, to make campaign donations to a candidate for federal office in the U.S.
