Shipley appeal presents former FBI agent’s side of gun charges

Gun Rights Examiner ^ | 24 May, 2012 | David Codrea

[marktwain]

A copy of the “Brief of Defendant-Appellant” in the case of United States v. John Thomas Shipley has now been provided to Gun Rights Examiner by a source close to the former FBI agent convicted of dealing firearms without a license in April of last year. The brief raises several points of contention that are made all the more compelling in light of revelations reported in this column last week that a request for a 30-day extension by the defense after the government admitted to losing a full day’s testimony under highly mysterious circumstances.

Among the issues the defense calls to the Fifth Circuit Court’s attention, several stand out to this correspondent, not necessarily as the most legally relevant, but certainly having bearing on the rationale and morality of the prosecution.

“Shipley reinvested every penny back into his gun collection and the government presented not a scintilla of evidence that Shipley's buying and selling guns for his collection had the principal objective of livelihood and profit,” the brief points out. That would certainly appear relevant to drawing a distinction between an enthusiastic and prolific collector and a professional dealer.

“The district court abused its discretion in excluding Shipley's sole requested character witness given the Government's vicious attacks on Shipley's integrity and given its closing argument references to Shipley's ‘lies’," the brief reveals. “The district court abused its discretion in refusing to instruct the jury that evidence of Shipley's honesty, integrity, and character as a law-abiding citizen can give rise to reasonable doubt in and of itself.”

Perhaps most troubling and outrageous is the accusation that “the prosecutors fabricated a story that a firearm that Shipley once owned killed a Mexican army captain, and showed the jury photos of weapons and armament in Mexico that had no connection to this case

[marktwain]

It sounds like they are railroading Shipley as part of the U.S. guns to Mexico narrative.

[Conservative Vermont Vet]

If this can happen to a respected FBI agent in Texas of all places, one must be concerned with what the corrupt, rogue, out-of-control, jack-booted, ATF THUGS, can get away with if they target Joe 6 pack in a liberal, anti-gun environ.

Read the appeal and it is disconcerting to think how Shipley seems to have been railroaded all the way around by not only the ATF but the US Attorney's Office as well as the Judge.

SCARRY!!!

[zeugma]

Perhaps most troubling and outrageous is the accusation that “the prosecutors fabricated a story that a firearm that Shipley once owned killed a Mexican army captain, and showed the jury photos of weapons and armament in Mexico that had no connection to this case

Sounds to be like it is time to start rounding up ATF agents and prosecuting them. 500+ dead mexicans and counting resulted from "fast and furious". The government's hypocrisy is astounding.

[TigersEye]

It's part of the coverup of Obama's State-sponsored terrorist acts.

Let's call it what it is. State-sponsored terrorism.

On this side of the border it's violations of the RICO Act. In Mexico and Honduras it's state-sponsored terrorism.

What else would you call heavily arming international criminal syndicates within a foreign country wherein that country is in a death struggle with those syndicates?

Especially when it goes beyond thousands of assault rifles to include grenades, RPGs, shoulder fired rockets, anti-aircraft guns, night vision equipment, body armor and special deals to bring their drugs onto our soil with legal impunity?

Not to mention the just-revealed news that the rip crew that killed BP Agent Brian Terry was there with DEA and FBI assistance and approval to attack and kill a rival cartel's smuggling crew.

Let's not leave out the FBI and DEA laundering millions of dollars for the drug cartels by setting up bank accounts for them that they otherwise couldn't do.

It's organized, it is spread through every Federal LEA and it violates numerous domestic laws and numerous statutes and treaties that deal with foreign nations. Yet none of it has been officially sanctioned. It's the FedGov acting like mafiosa.

0bama, Holder and Hillary Clinton are all deeply involved in this and it is state-sponsored terrorism. These Chicago machine Marxist thugs are dragging our country down to the level of Tehran and Pyongyang.

Let's call it what it is. State-sponsored terrorism.

On this side of the border it's violations of the RICO Act. In Mexico and Honduras it's state-sponsored terrorism.

What else would you call heavily arming international criminal syndicates within a foreign country wherein that country is in a death struggle with those syndicates?

Especially when it goes beyond thousands of assault rifles to include grenades, RPGs, shoulder fired rockets, anti-aircraft guns, night vision equipment, body armor and special deals to bring their drugs onto our soil with legal impunity?

Not to mention the just-revealed news that the rip crew that killed BP Agent Brian Terry was there with DEA and FBI assistance and approval to attack and kill a rival cartel's smuggling crew.

Let's not leave out the FBI and DEA laundering millions of dollars for the drug cartels by setting up bank accounts for them that they otherwise couldn't do.

It's organized, it is spread through every Federal LEA and it violates numerous domestic laws and numerous statutes and treaties that deal with foreign nations. Yet none of it has been officially sanctioned. It's the FedGov acting like mafiosa.

0bama, Holder and Hillary Clinton are all deeply involved in this and it is state-sponsored terrorism. These Chicago machine Marxist thugs are dragging our country down to the level of Tehran and Pyongyang.