Nebraska Gov. Pete Ricketts is voicing support for 1st-District Congressman Jeff Fortenberry, a fellow Republican who has pleaded Not Guilty to lying to FBI agents investigating illegal campaign contributions from a foreign national.
Ricketts defended Fortenberry Monday at an unrelated news conference as a “man of high integrity,“ saying he doesn’t believe Fortenberry would knowingly violate federal law, and that he will pray for the 9-term representative and his family.
Fortenberry has denied the charges handed down last week by a federal grand jury in California.
His attorney has argued that Fortenberry was misled and wasn’t aware when he was interviewed by agents in 2019 that $30,000 in contributions funneled into his 2016 campaign had originated with a Nigerian billionaire.