Last week, the Department of Justice announced that Nebraska Rep. Jeff Fortenberry was indicted for lying to the FBI over foreign donations made to his campaign. 

Thursday, Judge Stanley Blumfeld took the unusual step of making sure the nine-term Republican couldn’t monkey around with witnesses or handle evidence without being supervised. Blumfeld’s order “would prohibit Fortenberry from taking notes or ‘memorializing’ the evidence, and even requires his lawyers to ensure he is ‘never left alone with any Cooperator Materials,’” according to reporting by The Daily Beast’s Roger Sollenberger.

Fortenberry was charged with “concealing information and making false statements to federal authorities who were investigating illegal contributions made by a foreign national to the congressman’s 2016 re-election campaign,” according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California. 

The order implies there are several unidentified and named witnesses speaking to officials against Fortenberry—including former aides and his longtime chief of staff, Dr. Reyn Archer. 

“A protective order for the discovery is also necessary so that the government can produce to the defense materials related to sensitive and ongoing investigations, including those related to public officials,” the judge wrote, adding that “disclosure of this information without limitation risks the privacy and security of the information’s legitimate owners.”

Fortenberry addressed the indictment in a video filmed in his vintage pickup truck, with his wife and dog, as the Nebraska cornfields drape the background.

The congressman explained that federal prosecutors in California “accused me of lying, and are charging me with this.” He adds, “This is wrong on so many levels.”

The story begins with a Los Angeles, California, fundraiser in 2016, where Fortenberry was to accept an award from a Lebanese community for his work in protecting religious minorities in the Middle East. While there, he raised $37,000, with about $30,000 coming from Gilbert Chagoury, a Nigerian billionaire of Lebanese descent. It is illegal to accept campaign money from a foreign national.

According to reporting by the Omaha World-Herald, the contributions were funneled through a group of Californians and went to four U.S. politicians.

It is illegal for foreign nationals to contribute to U.S. elections, and for candidates to accept or ask for said donations. 

Chagoury—a resident of Paris—and two associates agreed in 2019 to cooperate with the investigation and pay the required $1.8 million in fines, the Omaha World-Herald reports.

According to reporting by Politico three officials also received donations from Chagoury: former Rep. Lee Terry (R-NE) and Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), who each got contributions in 2014, and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), via his failed 2012 presidential campaign.

The Daily Beast reports that Chagoury’s spokesperson, Mark Corallo, also served as a spokesperson for former President Donald Trump’s personal defense team during the Russia investigation. Later, Corallo worked for Joe diGenova and Victoria Toensing, associates of Rudy Giuliani, during the Ukraine investigation.