Former FBI special agent John Shipley is pleading directly with President Donald Trump to review his case and issue a presidential pardon, claiming in an interview with Law Enforcement Today's Managing Editor, Josh Cohen, that he was wrongfully convicted and used as a scapegoat in the federal government’s botched Operation Fast and Furious.
“President Trump, you've been through the gauntlet. You've been accused of things that weren't true. You know the justice system doesn't always work,” Shipley beseeched Trump.
“Take a look at my case. Have the director of the FBI look at my case. Have me come in and polygraph and ask me anything you want.”
Convicted in 2010 on firearms-related charges, Shipley spent two years in federal prison and now lives as a felon.
But he maintains he broke no laws and was swept up in a politically motivated effort to conceal the government’s mishandling of weapons during the controversial gun-walking program.
Operation Fast and Furious, overseen by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), allowed thousands of firearms to cross the southern border in hopes of tracking cartel activity.
But many of the weapons vanished only to later reappear at violent crime scenes in Mexico and the U.S., including the killing of Border Patrol Agent Brian Terry.
“Our government was funneling thousands of guns into Mexico so that they could push gun control,” Shipley said.
Shipley claims that the authorities created the problem and then tried to present themselves as the heroes solving it.
One of those guns, a .50 caliber rifle once owned by Shipley and sold legally to another law enforcement officer, later ended up in Mexico.
The ATF traced the gun back to him, and he was charged with dealing firearms without a license and making false statements.
Shipley claims prosecutors misrepresented the facts, withheld key evidence, and failed to disclose that the gun store that ultimately sold the rifle to a trafficker was cooperating with the ATF.
He also alleges misconduct at trial, including a judge who had a conflict of interest as, according to Shipley, the judge's sister, Dolores Brionus, was the county judge who was investigated, arrested, and convicted for corruption.
This was a case Shipley helped investigate with the FBI, yet the judge did not recuse himself until after Shipley’s trial concluded.
Despite his conviction, Shipley was not immediately terminated from the FBI.
He was allowed to return to work with his top-secret clearance even after a SWAT-style raid on his home.
Shipley says that after serving a search warrant and taking his guns, the authorities returned his badge and Glock and told him to keep working, which he argues would not have happened if they truly believed he was guilty.
Shipley ultimately served his sentence. Today, he works as a criminal defense attorney in Texas, but says he can’t fully move on until his name is cleared.
“This isn’t about me anymore,” he said. “I’m 55 years old. I can go to God and look Him in the eyes and He’s going to say, ‘I know, my son.’”
His pardon request was denied under the Biden administration.
He has since resubmitted it to President Trump following his re-election campaign's momentum, and is calling on anyone with access to help bring his story forward.
“Sir, in any capacity you want me, I’m in,” Shipley pleads to Trump in the interview. “God only gave me so much time on this earth, and I’m here to serve.”
Comments
2025-06-28T10:16-0400 | Comment by: Raconteur
Hey, somebody had to take the fall for Holder and Obama. The best resource for "Fast & Furious" is David Codrea