How Fast and Furious Buried an FBI Agent | John Shipley | Ep. 444

John Shipley spent fourteen years carrying an FBI badge. Army aviator first — commissioned by his own father, a retired Vietnam-era lieutenant colonel — until a spinal cord injury at Walter Reed ended his flying career. He walked into Quantico in 1996, drew El Paso, and spent the next decade working narcotics and surveillance on the Mexican border. SWAT. Sniper. Bodyguard details for the FBI Director and the Attorney General. A father of two adopted kids. The kind of agent who refused a $27 million bribe because he didn't want the money — he wanted to keep his oath.

And then the government came for him.

One Barrett .50 caliber he sold legally to a county deputy years earlier ended up in a Mexican shootout. ATF traced it back. Prosecutors charged him with six felonies. What John didn't know at trial was that the gun store that brokered the final sale was an ATF informant — part of what would later be exposed as Operation Fast and Furious. They let the rifle walk. They knew. And when Mexico asked questions, they handed John up instead. He did two years in federal prison. An entire day of his trial transcript vanished from the record. Presidential executive privilege slammed down on every document that could prove it. John tells the whole story on his own terms — and he's still fighting for the pardon that would give him his rights back.

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Timestamps:

[00:01:03] Military family and father

[00:08:41] Army pilot to FBI path

[00:14:03] 9/11 reshapes FBI work

[00:19:00] SWAT tryouts and standards

[00:26:56] Border narcotics and cartel threats

[00:33:47] Oath, ethics, and truthfulness

[00:49:25] Retaliation and bureau politics

[01:00:03] ATF call about Barrett

[01:13:49] Brian Terry and fallout

[01:26:28] Search warrant lies and appeals

[01:36:29] Law school and immunity questions

[01:52:32] Eric Holder and sealed records

[02:01:11] Prison sentence and family pain

[02:20:42] Aftermath, bias, and ATF history

[02:32:21] Pardon hopes and support

[02:56:44] Final reflections and thanks