Does that not mean he was arrested before he had the chance to declare the money? (if he still had the money on him)
Yes, I know they give you the customs card to fill out while on the plane, but until you get the chance to turn the card in, it seems you have not committed a crime of non-declaration.
So not only was it a set up, it was poorly executed.
Can anyone correct me if that is incorrect?
Lol, this sh*tshow is so embarrassing. They hit him with the perjury charge to cover up that they were trying to get him for the customs charge.
From the update to the article:
[W]hen he was arrested at Dulles Airport on July 27 after coming off a flight from Munich, prosecutors had no warrant for him and no indictment or criminal complaint. The complaint would be filed the following morning and approved by Howell in Washington.
The key here is that he was arrested without a warrant or probable cause. It would appear that the only way the FBI knew he could possibly be carrying the cash was that "someone" arranged to pay him a bogus fee. CIA ?FBI ? No one with an I.Q. above room temperature should talk to the FBI under any circumstances.