LINCOLN — The Justice Department’s second push to prosecute former U.S. Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, R-Neb., appears headed to an end under the new management of a Republican president.

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday filed to withdraw the felony charges lodged against the Lincoln Republican in Washington, D.C., before the case was set to head to trial.

The second trial for Fortenberry had been delayed until June instead of February because key prosecutors involved in the case had announced they were leaving the Justice Department.

Expected shift

Legal observers expected the Justice Department’s stance on the case to change under President Donald Trump, because Trump has publicly complained about how Fortenberry had been treated.

Fortenberry was convicted in 2022 of lying to federal investigators and concealing his knowledge of foreign funds illegally donated in 2016 to his congressional campaign.

An appeals court overturned his convictions in 2023 because he had been charged in California, where the fundraiser took place, instead of in Nebraska or Washington, where he allegedly lied.

Federal prosecutors charged him again in Washington, D.C. in May 2024, alleging that he knew and tried to conceal his knowledge of the illegal contributions, which Fortenberry still denies.

Recording was key

During the 2022 trial, prosecutors had played a recording of Fortenberry from 2018 speaking by phone with the organizer of the California fundraiser who had become an FBI informant.

Fortenberry was told that the $30,000 raised was likely illegal and was delivered in a paper sack. He was also told Lebanese billionaire Gilbert Chagoury was the source of the money.

Fortenberry had long supported the mission of Chagoury’s organization, In Defense of Christians, which works to protect Christians and other religious minorities in the Middle East.

The former congressman, in later interviews with the FBI, denied being told what the recording revealed, the charges alleged. He also denied being aware of the illicit contribution.

His attorneys have argued at various points that he did not hear the FBI informant, that his connection was bad and that he did not understand that he was a target of an FBI investigation.

Called prosecution political

Fortenberry’s spokesman in 2024, Chad Kolton, described the charges as political and “overzealous.” Others have argued that a congressman should’ve known better than to accept foreign funds.

The investigation of Fortenberry began under Trump and continued under former President Joe Biden. Trump, in visits to Nebraska and elsewhere, has hinted that Fortenberry was wronged.

Trump posted about the case on his social media site, Truth Social, on Wednesday, saying it was “great to see that the Department of Justice has dropped the Witch Hunt against former Congressman Jeff Fortenberry.”

“Jeff and his family were forced to suffer greatly due to the illegal Weaponization of our Justice System by the Radical Left Democrats,” Trump wrote. “The charges were totally baseless. That Scam is now over.”

Trump’s pick for Attorney General, former Florida AG Pam Bondi, is headed for a confirmation vote from the Senate soon, having advanced Wednesday out of the Senate Judiciary Committee.

Fortenberry attorney Kristen DeWilde said the congressman would have no immediate statement. The Justice Department declined to comment.

Fortenberry resigned from representing Nebraska’s 1st District in Congress after being convicted in 2022. He was replaced by U.S. Rep. Mike Flood, R-Neb., a former Speaker of the Legislature.

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