New court filings hint at evidence lining up for Fortenberry retrial

LINCOLN, Neb. (WOWT) - A former Nebraska Congressman says he wants to prove his innocence and clear his name.

That didn't happen the last time Jeff Fortenberry was in front of a jury .

But an appeals court threw out his conviction , believing the trial should have happened where the alleged crimes took place — not in Los Angeles.

Both the government and Fortenberry's defense attorneys filed a slew of paperwork this week, hoping the judge will side with them when it comes to what's allowed and what isn't for the new trial.

6 News sat through a week's worth of testimony in that federal courtroom in Los Angeles two years ago, and based on what we're reading so far, the new trial in Washington, D.C., won't be that different.

Fortenberry served as a Nebraska Congressman for 18 years, resigning in 2022 after a California jury found him guilty of lying to the FBI about illegal campaign contributions. The federal judge sentenced him to probation instead of prison .

But nearly a year ago, the court of appeals tossed the conviction — not because of the evidence, but because of where the trial was held.

While the campaign fundraiser — where Fortenberry allegedly received a $30,000 cash donation from a Nigerian billionaire — happened in California, the alleged false statments Fortenberry made to the FBI occurred in his Lincoln, Neb., home and his Washington, D.C., office.

So the goverment indicted him again, and this time the trial will take place in Washington, D.C. It's set to begin Feb. 3.

"To be accused of this is extremely painful," Fortenberry said in 2021.

Based on new court filings, both sides are trying to get things that were said or done at the first trial kept out of this trial.

The government wants the court to keep Fortenberry from using inflammatory rhetoric that he's being politcall perseucted. In 2022, outside the federal courthouse in L.A., Fortenberry said: "We're in a very strange place, aren't we? This isn't Nebraska."

The defense has asked the judge to dismiss the case, and if it does to trial, they've asked to prevent the government from using certain technology — scrolling transcripts that put words to the audio of Fortenberry during his interview in Lincoln; and phone conversations with a government informant.

All along, the government says Fortenberry chose hubris over honesty, and they wanted to make him an example for other public officials.