Ricketts: Indicted Congressman's reelection just got harder

Governor Pete Ricketts today acknowledged that indicted GOP Congressman Jeff Fortenberry clearly faces an “additional challenge” at the ballot box next year.

Ricketts was asked about the federal campaign corruption case during a news conference today and said all he knows about the case he reads in the paper, adding that his fellow Republican is a “man of integrity.”

[See Ricketts' further comments above]

State Sen. Patty Pansing Brooks, a Lincoln Democrat, has now announced her campaign aimed at unseating the nine-term 1st District incumbent. 

In a statement to NCN a spokesman for Fortenberry's campaign talked up the race, never mentioning the charges against the Congressman. “Patty Pansing Brooks will faithfully advance Joe Biden’s agenda and have to explain a chaotic economy, overrun border, and dangerous foreign policy, says Chad Kolton.”

Accused of lying to the FBI and facing up to 15 years in federal prison Fortenberry is now asking that his trial be pushed back.

Currently scheduled for December 14, Fortenberry—who insists he's not guilty and was setup by the government—is looking to delay the trial at least three months until mid-February.

According to the latest court filing, Fortenberry says he needs time to go over a mountain of the prosecution’s evidence, which includes over 11,600 pages of written communications, reports, and transcripts along with 50 audio-video recordings.

Earlier—while making the case that the government was out to trap him— Fortenberry filed a 9-page motion that says the government's investigation initially found that Fortenberry knew nothing about illegal foreign campaign contributions to his 2016 reelection campaign. 

Fortenberry says the case against him is based on a 10-minute phone call made to him by a government informant, who told him about the illegal contributions. 

The government says when investigators questioned Fortenberry about the phone call he didn't answer truthfully.

Fortenberry, who says he didn’t lie, adds that any comments he made did not affect the government's overall corruption investigation and are therefore not illegal.