House Republican leaders may want Rep. Jeff Fortenberry to step down after the Nebraska lawmaker was convicted on three felony counts of lying to the FBI about a 2016 foreign campaign contribution, but under House rules, he doesn’t have to resign.
If Fortenberry, first elected to his 1st Congressional District seat in 2004, chooses to stay in office while appealing his convictions he won’t be the first to try and hold on. Over the past quarter-century-plus, convicted House members from both parties have tried to tough it out, though all eventually caved to pressure, usually from their own party leaders. Here are the highlights, or more precisely, the lowlights.
— Rep. Duncan D. Hunter. The California Republican on Dec. 3, 2019, pleaded guilty to misuse of campaign funds, including $1,302 in charges for video games and $600 to pay for a family rabbit to travel by plane. Federal prosecutors had also submitted a court filing alleging that Hunter used his campaign funds for extramarital affairs with five women, including three lobbyists, a congressional aide, and one of his staff members.
On Dec. 6, Hunter announced he would resign after the holidays from the conservative San Diego-area House seat he first won in 2008. But by waiting until January to resign, Hunter received more than $10,000 in monthly salary he would have otherwise had to forgo.
REP. JEFF FORTENBERRY FEDERAL CORRUPTION TRIAL OPENS AS GOP RIVAL VIES FOR SEAT
— Rep. Michael Grimm. The New York Republican on Dec. 23, 2014, pleaded guilty to one charge of felony tax evasion. Grimm admitted to underreporting revenues of a small health food restaurant in Manhattan called Healthalicious by over $900,000 during a four-year period. Grimm also admitted to filing false tax returns based on that underreported income.
After Grimm’s guilty plea, he admitted to making mistakes but refused to resign. Grimm changed his tune a week later when reports emerged he was under strong pressure to step down from Republican House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio. Grimm conceded the point and resigned from the House on Jan. 5, 2015, as the new session of Congress opened.
— Rep. Trey Radel. The first-term Florida Republican on Nov. 20, 2013, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor count of possession of cocaine and was sentenced to one year of supervised probation. But Radel tried to stay in Congress. Radel went on a self-imposed leave of absence to undergo addiction rehabilitation and claimed he would be donating his salary from that time period to charity.
But Boehner and his House Republican leadership team were none-too-happy to see Radel stay on. Florida GOP Gov. Rick Scott and the Republican Party of Florida put out statements calling for Radel to leave. Radel finally quit Congress on Jan. 27, 2014.
— Rep. William Jefferson. The Louisiana Democrat had been thrown out of office by the time he was convicted, on Nov. 13, 2009, of 11 counts of bribery. But the longtime New Orleans political figure, a graduate of Harvard Law School, had tried mightily to hold on to his office.
Jefferson was charged in August 2005 after the FBI seized $90,000 in cash from his home freezer — what tabloid headlines called the embodiment of the phrase “cold hard cash.” Jefferson won reelection in his strongly Democratic district in 2006. But facing mounting legal challenges, Jefferson in 2008 lost to Republican rival Joseph Cao.
— Rep. Bob Ney. The Ohio Republican on Oct. 13, 2006, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements stemming from his dealings with disgraced and imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Ney admitted to accepting overseas trips and rigged gambling winnings in exchange for doing legislative favors on Abramoff’s behalf.
But Ney tried to stay in office as long as he could. Ney’s attorney said at the time the 12-year House member would resign sometime before his Jan. 19, 2007, sentencing, but not immediately. House Republicans were eager to see the federal convict go, and Democrats made his obstinance an issue in their successful 2006 bid to win the House majority. Several other Republican lawmakers in recent years had been caught up in corruption charges, and Ney now served as a reminder of their perfidy.
Boehner, then-House majority leader, tried to pressure his fellow Ohioan to depart.
“He betrayed his oath of office and violated the trust of those he represented in the House. There is no place for him in this Congress,” Boehner said in a statement with fellow House Republicans. Ney, facing expulsion in the waning days of the House Republicans’ majority, resigned on Nov. 3, 2006.
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— Rep. Mel Reynolds. The Illinois Democrat on Aug. 22, 1995, was convicted in Cook County Circuit Court on 12 counts of criminal sexual assault, sexual abuse, obstruction of justice, and solicitation of child pornography. Reynolds, a Rhodes scholar and Harvard Law School graduate, did not immediately step down. Within a week, members of the House Democratic leadership were openly calling for his resignation.
But with his allies in Congress gone, Reynolds on Sept. 2 announced he would resign on Oct. 1. Reynolds made the announcement in an appearance with his wife, Marisol, on CNN’s Larry King Live. While Reynolds was soon gone from Congress, by staying through the turn of the month, like Hunter more than 24 years later, he ensured a fresh paycheck from the House.
