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Trump Defends Jeff Fortenberry, Calls Mark Zuckerberg ‘A Criminal’
- Trump called Mark Zuckerberg a “criminal” for being permitted to spend $500 million and so influence the outcome of a presidential election.
- The congressman is accused of providing false and misleading statements to investigators
Ekohotblog reports that Donald Trump, a former U.S President, has supported Representative Jeff Fortenberry after he was charged with lying to federal investigators about a $30,000 campaign donation.
On Tuesday, October 19, a federal grand jury indicted Fortenberry after he posted a defiant YouTube video showing his wife and dog in front of a cornfield in which he pledged to fight the accusations.
Donald Trump and Mark Zuckerberg
Trump, who is still barred from using Facebook and Twitter, issued a statement Tuesday night through his Save America PAC backing Fortenberry, hours after he was indicted by a federal grand jury.
He called Mark Zuckerberg a “criminal” for being permitted to spend $500 million and so influence the outcome of a presidential election.
He wrote;
‘Isn’t it terrible that a Republican Congressman from Nebraska just got indicted for possibly telling some lies to investigators about campaign contributions, when half of the United States Congress lied about made up scams.
‘And when Mark Zuckerberg, in my opinion a criminal, is allowed to spend $500 million and therefore able to change the course of a Presidential Election, and nothing happens to them.
‘Comey lied, Schiff lied, Crooked Hillary lied, McCabe lied, the two lovers, Peter and Lisa, lied. They all lied having to do with Russia, Russia, Russia, because they knew it was a SCAM, and they all lied having to do with Ukraine, Ukraine, Ukraine, because they knew it was a SCAM.
‘They made up fairy tales about me knowing how badly it would hurt the U.S.A.—and nothing happens to them. Is there no justice in our Country?’
Trump’s comments refer to a number of politicians and former government employees who he believes tried to undermine his presidency by speaking out against him.
According to the Los Angeles US Attorney’s office, the indictment accuses the nine-term Republican with one count of scheming to falsify and hide material information’ and two counts of making false statements to the FBI.
The office said Fortenberry made the false statements to agents looking into illegal campaign contributions to his 2016 reelection effort.
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According to the indictment, Lebanese-Nigerian billionaire Gilbert Chagoury, despite being a foreign national prohibited from donating to US candidates, ‘arranged’ for $30,000 in contributions to Fortenberry in 2016.
Chagoury entered into a deferred prosecution agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in 2019 and admitted to providing illegal contributions to four American candidates.
In September 2016, the co-host of the Fortenberry 2016 event, named only as ‘Individual H,’ began collaborating with the government, alerting agents about the illicit contributions.
In September 2016, H notified special agents about the third-party contributions and began working with federal authorities. During the inquiry, they looked into whether the congressman got the money and if he was aware of them.
When Fortenberry contacted the co-host to plan another event in the spring of 2018, the individual reportedly notified him about the unlawful campaign donations given by a Chagoury associate.
The congressman is accused of providing false and misleading statements to investigators regarding the money during interviews, despite being told that lying to the federal government is a crime. Fortenberry faces a maximum sentence of five years in jail for each of the three crimes he faces.
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