Attorneys for Nebraska Republican 1st-District Congressman Jeff Fortenberry have asked a judge to dismiss federal charges accusing him of lying to FBI agents who were investigating illegal campaign contributions.
Lead lawyer John Littrell argues in the motion filed in federal court on Tuesday that the charges were incorrectly filed in California because the 2 times Fortenberry spoke to federal agents were in Nebraska and in Washington, D.C.
The 9-term Representative received illegal contributions from a Nigerian billionaire using a middleman at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles, which prosecutors argue make California the appropriate venue.
      Fortenberry has said he was misled and didn’t know when he was questioned by the FBI 3 years later that the campaign contributions originated with the billionaire.