U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry learned in 2018 that he received $30,000 in illegal campaign donations from a Nigerian-born billionaire, but the Nebraska Republican lied and misled federal investigators probing the exchange of illicit dollars, a prosecutor alleged Thursday.
During opening statements at the nine-term congressman’s federal trial at a Los Angeles courthouse, a defense attorney presented a starkly different version of events. Attorney Glen Summers argued that the only scheme was engineered by federal authorities out to “ambush” Fortenberry and “get him,” after an extensive national investigation of foreign donations involving members of Congress fell flat.
