Former GOP congressman's conviction of lying to the FBI reversed by appeals court

An appeals court on Tuesday wiped former Congressman Jeff Fortenberry's conviction of lying to the FBI over an illegal campaign contribution, determining he was not tried in the proper venue.

“Fortenberry’s trial took place in a state where no charged crime was committed, and before a jury drawn from the vicinage of the federal agencies that investigated the defendant,”  U.S. District Judge James Donato wrote in the opinion.

“The Constitution does not permit this. Fortenberry’s convictions are reversed so that he may be retried, if at all, in a proper venue,” Donato continued. 

Last year, Fortenberry was sentenced by a federal judge in Los Angeles to two years of probation, a $25,000 fine and 320 hours of community service for lying to federal authorities about an illegal campaign contribution. 

He resigned shortly after the conviction.

The prosecutors alleged that Fortenberry lied to federal agents multiple times about a $30,000 illegal campaign donation he received from a Nigerian billionaire at a 2016 fundraiser in Los Angeles. 

“We conclude that an effects-based test for venue of a Section 1001 offense has no support in the Constitution, the text of the statute, or historical practice,” Donato concluded. "Consequently, we reverse Fortenberry’s conviction without prejudice to retrial in a proper venue."

Other judges on the panel included Salvador Mendoza Jr. and Gabriel Sanchez.

“We are gratified by the Ninth Circuit’s decision. Celeste and I would like to thank everyone who has stood by us and supported us with their kindness and friendship,” Fortenberry said in a statement, according to The Hill.