Convicted House members who wouldn’t go quietly

Published March 26, 2022 9:50am ET



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.

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