The Division of Justice (DOJ) on Wednesday moved to toss out expenses in opposition to former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.), who resigned from Congress in 2022 after a California jury convicted him of mendacity to federal authorities.
The request to dismiss the case with prejudice, which means the identical expenses cannot be introduced once more, comes as President Trump’s Justice Division has moved to finish felony prosecutions of his political allies, together with those that participated within the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol assault and Trump’s co-defendants in his federal labeled paperwork case.
On his Reality Social platform, Trump celebrated the tip of the DOJ’s “witch hunt” in opposition to Fortenberry and claimed he was the sufferer of a weaponized justice system.
“The charges were totally baseless,” Trump mentioned. “That Scam is now over, so Jeff and his family can go back to having a great life together, and be a part of our Country’s future as we MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN. I am very proud of our Department of Justice, something I have not been able to say for many years!”
A California jury discovered Fortenberry responsible of mendacity to FBI brokers in two separate interviews about his data of unlawful marketing campaign contributions from a international billionaire.
These interviews passed off in Lincoln, Neb., and in Washington, however the case was introduced in Los Angeles as a result of federal prosecutors mentioned he obtained the contributions at a 2016 fundraiser there. Nevertheless, he was by no means charged with receiving unlawful contributions.
That conviction was overturned by a federal appeals court docket in 2023, after it decided Fortenberry ought to have confronted trial in Nebraska or Washington, D.C., as a substitute.
Federal prosecutors introduced the case once more in Washington in Could, and Fortenberry was awaiting a brand new trial when Trump received the presidential race.
The Hill requested remark from an lawyer for Fortenberry.
