A federal judge on Tuesday declared a mistrial in the case of Timothy Shea, a Colorado man accused of stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars from a nonprofit that raised $25 million to privately honor Donald J. Trump’s promise. to create a barrier between the United States. States and Mexico.
The statement came after 11 jurors last week sent a note to Judge Analisa Torres of the Manhattan federal court requesting the removal of the 12th, who they said had spoken of a “government witch hunt” and refused to deliberate on the basis of evidence.
The memorandum, which Judge Torres read aloud in court, said the 12th juror had displayed “political bias”, alleging that fellow jurors were “liberals” who passed a verdict before hearing evidence. “Not true at all,” the others wrote.
Judge Torres had urged jurors to continue to deliberate on the wire fraud, money laundering and data falsification conspiracy after receiving the note last Thursday. She admitted on Tuesday that they were in an insurmountable deadlock.
“I want to thank you for your services as jurors,” Judge Torres said shortly after 2 p.m., “I declare a mistrial.”
Damian Williams, the US attorney in Manhattan, said in a statement shortly after the decision was announced that he planned to rehearse the case. The mistrial, he said, “does not in any way diminish our determination or belief in the strong and compelling evidence that we strongly believe proves his guilt.”
Mr. Shea was charged with falsifying records and conspiracy to commit wire transfers and launder money from the nonprofit We Build the Wall Inc. Prosecutors said he colluded with an Air Force veteran named Brian Kolfage and with former Mr. Trump chief strategist Stephen K. Bannon to transfer money from the Wall Fund for personal expenses such as home renovations, a luxury SUV and a truckload of energy drinks. Trump-themed ones being marketed as “liberal tears.”
If the group – which was promoted by Donald Trump Jr. and had an advisory board of prominent supporters of the former president — was a product of Mr Trump’s incendiary political style, then some of that mortified energy seems to be in the federal jury room, too.
On Thursday morning, the 11 jurors sent their note, quoting the man who made comments including, “Tim Shea is a good man. He doesn’t hit his wife” and “You just can’t vote to lynch someone.”
It went on to say that the 12th juror had shown hostility to the government, alleging that Mr. Shea was being tried in the Southern District of New York because people vote a certain way there, but that it was instead in a Southern state. should have been tried. That juror had also injected into the deliberation topics that fell outside the scope of the trial, including talking about “political parties,” according to the note.
Citing “a breach of oath,” the note asked Judge Torres to replace the juror with a deputy.
Judge Torres questioned that juror in her dressing room, away from fellow panelists and the public. According to one transcript, she asked three questions: whether he had “prejudice or personal views that prevented you from being an honest and impartial juror,” whether the juror “could determine the facts subject to my interpretation of the law, even if you disagree with me or the law” and whether he could consult with other members. The juror replied, “No, I don’t” to the first question and “yes” to the second two.
Shortly after, the judge instructed the jurors to continue deliberating.
Jurors wrote to the judge on Tuesday saying they had reviewed the evidence in detail, but found they were “still further entrenched in our opposing views” and could not agree on a verdict on any points.
The mistrial was a setback for prosecutors in the case of the only We Build the Wall defendant to appear in court. mr. Bannon was spared a lawsuit after being pardoned by Mr. Trump. Mr Kolfage pleaded guilty in April to conspiracy to commit fraud and tax-related charges. A fourth defendant, Andrew Badolato, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit telephone fraud.
Mr. Trump’s call for a border wall caused deep division from the moment when he announced his intention to build one when announcing his presidential campaign, citing the drug traffickers and “rapists” he alleged sent Mexico to the US sent
We Build the Wall’s fundraising efforts were fueled by social media posts boasting of ties to Mr. Trump. The group’s advisory board was made up of loyal Trump allies such as Kris Kobach, the former Kansas Secretary of State, and Erik Prince, the founder of the private military company Blackwater, now known as Academi. Mr Trump’s eldest son, Donald Trump Jr., said Mr Kolfage “really showed what capitalism is all about.”
During the trial of Mr. Shea, prosecutors introduced as evidence copies of text messages between suspects and financial records that they said showed the money transfer.
“Let’s create a gofundme to pay the trump wall,” wrote Mr. Kolfage at the end of 2018 to mr. Shea and his wife, Amanda Shea. “And if Trump doesn’t take the money, we’ll donate it to our organization.”
In early 2019, Mr. Bannon was involved. The We Build the Wall website states that the money raised “will be used to carry out our mission and purpose” and that Mr. Kolfage “wouldn’t take a dime”.
A text message quoted by prosecutors showed Mr. Shea marveled as the donations poured in.
“I mean, people are crazy,” he wrote to Mr. Kolfage. ‘Who would throw money at something like that? During Christmas!”
Minutes later, Mr. Kolfage wrote to Mr. Shea, “We need to start making more money.”
A week and a half after that exchange, Mr. Badolato in a message to Mr. Bannon that the claim that Mr. Kolfage “not a dime will be paid” would be “the most talked about media story ever”.
“But,” he added, “we have to find an end to get him stuff.”
Mr. Bannon later wrote to Mr. Badolato, “COAR can pay him,” an obvious reference to a nonprofit organization he founded, Citizens of the American Republic, referred to on its website as COAR.
Financial records cited by prosecutors showed that $380,000 had been sent from the wall group to Citizens of the American Republic, who in turn sent money to Mr. Kolfage and Mr. Bannon.
Prosecutors also argued that $300,000 from the wall fund went to Ranch Property Marketing & Management, a company that belonged to Mr. Shea. Prosecutors said Ranch Property then sent money to the Sheas, to Mr Kolfage and to a bank account linked to a far-right website, Freedom Daily, to which Mr Kolfage and his wife had access.
In total, Mr. Kolfage and Mr. Shea each raised hundreds of thousands of dollars from the plan, prosecutors said. During his summons, a prosecutor, Nicolas Roos, told the jurors: “The defendant, together with his partner, his partner in crime, devised a plan to lie to thousands of donors.”
Shea’s attorney, John C. Meringolo, told jurors that the defendant had made money from legitimate work for We Build the Wall, adding, “Money goes back and forth, and they can’t prove beyond a reasonable doubt what it’s for. .”
At one point, prosecutors said, We Build the Wall sent $38,500 to a bank account for an energy drink company Mr. Shea founded and which arranged for the production of nearly 50,000 cans of a drink that portrayed Mr. Trump as a superhero.
“The can is Trump is beating the impeachment,” Mr Shea wrote in a text message to Mr Kolfage. “Our next can will be Trump crushing covid.”