White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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All, please consider signing a petition for a wronged veteran who has lost basically everything after a false conviction and being barred from appeal.


https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petiti ... thy-arnold
Issue a full Presidential Pardon and Restore the Rights of Timothy Arnold.


Case Documentation: https://www.leagle.com/decision/infdco20140103600


EXCLUSIVE: Air Force Vet/Firearms Expert Convicted of Manufacturing Weapons Speaks Out
WASHINGTON, October 6, 2014—Decorated Air Force veteran and firearms expert Timothy Arnold was convicted in the United States District Court of Southern Georgia on January 21 of manufacturing and dealing in firearms without a license, transporting illegally-acquired firearms to a state in which he did not reside, dealing firearms across state lines without a license, and theft of government property by conversion. The prosecution, led by Assistant United States Attorney Fred Kramer, claimed Arnold was running a “black market operation” while he was a well-known firearms instructor with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations (AFOSI) at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC) in Brunswick, Georgia. FLETC is part of the Department of Homeland Security and trains law enforcement officers for 91 federal agencies, including the U.S. Park Police and U.S. Marshals Service.

Arnold was employed as Chief of Firearms and Tactics for AFOSI while serving the last few years of his twenty-year career in the Air Force. Upon his retirement in 2009, the Air Force requested that he remain in his position in a civilian capacity and continue to perform all of his duties–tactical instruction, course development, equipment purchasing, and an extensive travel schedule. His activities and purchases were overseen and approved by his direct superiors on a monthly basis, as they had been for years. One thing that did change frequently, however, was the identity of his bosses. Turnover was routine and each department head arrived with very different ideas regarding the nature of their position. Arnold was known for having high expectations for his FLETC students and high standards for his training curriculum. Many witnesses in his trial testified that his training certainly saved lives during operations overseas. They said he was one of the best firearms instructors in the Air Force. Arnold prided himself on creating realistic scenes using costumes and props to simulate real-life scenarios that protective services agents might face in the field. His job required him to buy civilian equipment for those classes–and his superiors pressured him at the end of every fiscal year to spend all remaining funds of his operating budget, that sometimes totaled $120,000. This is common practice in federal agencies whose directors fear a surplus will cut their Congressional funding for future years.

Firearms were not just Arnold’s profession, they were also his lifelong hobby. His expertise garnered countless unsolicited requests from co-workers, members of law enforcement, friends, and family to assemble guns for them. Most of the time, he would advise them as to what parts they should order and then Arnold would assemble them into a working firearm–as a favor or for a trade. “The investigators were not able to find a trail of money from me profiting from my supposed firearms business,” Tim Arnold says, “Because I never made any money off of it. I never claimed to be a business or advertise. I did it for fun and as a favor to people in my life.” However, a jury in a civilian court found Arnold guilty of illegally manufacturing and dealing firearms. Of note, the legal definition of manufacturing implies objects are created from raw material. What Arnold did, and what many other gun enthusiasts in this country do, is actually firearms assembly, a legal endeavor. A few months before the AFOSI investigation into Arnold’s activities began, he was busy working on customizing an AR-15 platform rifle to replace the outdated MP-5 sub-machine guns that protective service officers currently use in the field. “Obtaining new parts to service those military weapons is nearly impossible,” Arnold says, “And a weapon with more maneuverability in tight quarters would reduce training time, as well as cost of replacement parts, saving the Air Force money.” Arnold’s prototype made its way to a training in New Jersey where it was mistaken for an illegal weapon. A review of the investigation itself reads like a comedy of errors, which makes Arnold’s conviction all the more surprising. Lead investigator Special Agent Wendell Palmer directly violated countless Air Force Policy Directives, including the interrogation of a subordinate as part of a criminal investigation, which is a conflict of interests; failing to read Arnold his rights during any of the interrogation sessions; ghostwriting statements from Arnold and all other witnesses; and failure to provide receipts for property, firearms, and records seized from Arnold, other witnesses, and even the Sig Sauer Academy in New Hampshire where Arnold worked as an adjunct instructor while on administrative leave.

Sig Sauer Academy Executive Director Adam Painchaud, also an AFOSI Special Agent, initiated a complaint against Palmer to the Air Force Office of Inspector General. Six witnesses signed separate affidavits detailing accounts of Palmer’s unethical conduct, including the Witness Statements riddled with errors, omissions, and misrepresentations that Palmer wrote himself. Several active OSI Agents offered to provide verbal testimony, afraid of the retaliation that a paper trail might bring. During the trial, Painchaud was slated to be the star witness for the defense. “I had the ability based on my firsthand, expert knowledge of the matters involved to dispute the charges against Arnold,” says Painchaud. Instead, he was prevented from testifying and Judge Lisa Godbey Wood threatened to charge him with contempt of court due to allegations from the prosecution that he inappropriately questioned another witness in the hallway outside the courtroom. “My testimony would have been instrumental,” Painchaud says, “The jury never got to hear it because I never got to testify. This is not how our system is supposed to work.” Painchaud was later cleared of the contempt allegations, as well as conduct unbecoming of an agent, after a separate investigation by AFOSI revealed his innocence.

Despite a Congressional inquiry into the handling of the investigation that resulted in Arnold’s conviction, his sentencing is set for this Thursday, October 9. Arnold faces up to 25 years in prison and a $300,000 fine. UPDATE: Exclusive: Air Force Vet/Firearms Expert Sentenced to Prison

Exclusive: Air Force Vet/Firearms Expert Sentenced to Prison
WASHINGTON, October 10, 2014–Former firearms instructor and decorated Air Force veteran Timothy Arnold stood for sentencing before Chief Judge Lisa Godbey Wood on October 9, 2014 at the United States District Court of Southern Georgia. Arnold received a sentence of 22 months behind bars and a fine of $168,000 for what many people close to the case believe is the result of a highly unethical investigation without merit.

Advised to not speak in his own defense at the trial, Arnold gave this statement at his Thursday morning sentencing, “I think it is very obvious how much I love this country. During my 20 years in the military, I was given missions and tasks that I did not agree with, but I did them. I do not agree with this guilty verdict, but I believe in this country. I will continue to do the same thing I have always done, and that is live with integrity. Preserving my reputation and my honor means more to me than it probably does to the average person. Now that I have lost my cherished Second Amendment rights, I have also lost the way I make my living. I must focus on protecting and providing for my wife and our little daughter…” Arnold choked up, unable to finish his statement.

Tim Arnold served his country for 20 years and executed many top secret missions. Now he must serve time in prison.
Arnold’s Air Force service record was spotless. He was considered one of the military’s best marksmen and one of the Air Force’s best firearms instructors.

As previously reported on BenSwann.com, Arnold’s charges included conversion (embezzlement,) manufacturing firearms, and illegally dealing firearms. According to multiple affidavits by other agents and witnesses, lead investigator Special Agent Wendell Palmer assembled no true elements of crime but broke multiple Air Force Policy Directives. Most damaging to Arnold’s case were the gross misrepresentations the witnesses say Palmer applied to their unsigned statements used during the trial. Palmer also confiscated personal firearms, records, and other property without providing a receipt. When his superior, Colonel Kristine Blackwell, was asked to intervene, she reportedly turned her back and laughed.

Alarmed by this “less than professional” investigation, many fellow agents and members of law enforcement interviewed by Palmer registered official complaints with the Air Force Inspector General (IG) before Arnold’s case went to trial. This information was not disclosed to the judge or the jury. It is unclear whether or not the IG has responded to the complaints of its OSI agents by opening an investigation of its own. One complaint stated, “I am extremely concerned for what I believe to be a misstatement of facts, improper evidence accounting procedures, and unsubstantiated allegations.”

Palmer declared to multiple witnesses during interviews that he believed Arnold was manufacturing fully automatic and silenced weapons and abusing the government credit card to do so. “I did not feel this information was correct, and felt it was inappropriate for Palmer to make such a statement during an ongoing investigation,” said a fellow agent. Another complainant said, “Upon reading Palmer’s documentation of my interview, I wish I had insisted on doing so (providing a written statement) as he took significant liberty with information I provided and did not account for important details I made sure to convey.” In simple terms, it appears Arnold was framed—but for a crime that didn’t exist.

A Congressional inquiry into this matter was originally requested through Rep. Jack Kingston’s (R-GA) office in 2011, but it was Rep. Carol Shea-Porter (D-NH) who actually opened one this year.

Arnold has 30 days to report to the Bureau of Prisons and begin his sentence. Congress has 30 days to get something done about it.



Air Force Vet Wakes Up in Federal Prison on Veterans Day
WASHINGTON, November 12, 2014–Decorated 20-year Air Force veteran and former firearms instructor at the Sig Sauer Academy, Timothy Arnold, woke up this Veterans Day in federal prison. Arnold was convicted earlier this year in a civilian court in Brunswick, Georgia, of manufacturing firearms and embezzlement—charges Arnold and many of his colleagues openly dispute. Active duty Office of Special Investigations (OSI) agents filed numerous complaints with the Inspector General (IG) regarding lead investigator Wendell Palmer’s “unethical” practices while building the case against Arnold. The information about the affidavits and the pending IG investigation was withheld from the court, in direct violation of the Supreme Court’s Brady doctrine requiring prosecutor Fred Kramer to disclose it. Additionally, the testimony of the defense’s star witness was prevented by unsubstantiated allegations of his contempt of court—testimony the would-be witness claims would have exonerated Arnold.

Thanks to exclusive reports filed earlier on BenSwann, Arnold’s case is receiving national attention and is the subject of an official Congressional Inquiry into its handling. Those with knowledge about the case continue to come forward, outraged that this prosecutorial tragedy happened at all, much less to a man they consistently describe as “honest to a fault” and “full of integrity.”

Before Arnold self-surrendered to the United States Penitentiary that currently holds him, he addressed several mischaracterizations made during the trial. Assistant United States Attorney Kramer accused Arnold of purchasing “stenciled golf balls” and other items “he and his friends thought were cool” using the government-issued credit card. “Yes, I bought golf balls! I also bought custom pins, pens, lighters, coffee cups, and shot glasses with the OSI insignia on them,” Arnold says, “That is what is known as swag. It is customary to give small tokens like these to visiting dignitaries, foreign agents attending training, and those you need to thank while on out-of-country assignments. In keeping with OSI regulations, I turned the swag over to the Commodities Custodian and would then ‘sign it out’ as needed.” Arnold said he was the recipient of such swag from the White Houses of both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. He says small gestures like these are traditional throughout the military.

Kramer accused Arnold of impersonating a law enforcement officer. Arnold says he used the AFOSI-issued badge and credentials provided to him, as he had done for years. He also willingly surrendered the badges to investigators for examination. The prosecution claimed Arnold wore various patches and pretended to be in different branches of the military. “I did wear different shirts depending upon what scenario I set up for my firearms and tactics classes,” Arnold said after the trial. “I never ran around town claiming to be an Army Ranger, a Marine sniper, or anything else.” Another detail not revealed in the trial was that during Arnold’s Air Force career, he was actually part of an elite Air Mobility Command. The jury heard a different story, however. “He’s a poser. He’s a fraud,” Kramer told them. “This is a man with no honor in him.”

Arnold refused to plead guilty to any of the charges during pre-trial negotiations and proceeded with a costly trial in order to clear his name. OSI agents who testified for the defense were shocked that a case with falsified evidence at the hands of who they believe to be an unethical fellow investigator sailed all the way through the legal system. Those who signed affidavits complaining about Palmer’s tactics are currently following up on them via every channel available. The Congressional inquiry is active. Arnold himself expects his record to be expunged once the truth is revealed. His last words before entering prison were, “I have only begun to fight.”
Last edited by PriestTheRunner on Wed Jul 18, 2018 11:24 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Let me lay out the details as I understanding them:

1. He was ordered by his commanding officer while still in the service to spend the full discretionary budget or else they would lose funding in future years. Hence the 300k in credit card spending. This included 'giveaway items' (or 'swag') like golf balls, pens and other small items that it is customary to give to visiting dignitaries, foreign agents attending training, and those you need to thank while on out-of-country assignments. In keeping with OSI regulations, he turned the "swag" over to the Commodities Custodian and would then ‘sign it out’ as needed. The article states Arnold said he was the recipient of such swag from the White Houses of both President Bill Clinton and President George W. Bush. He says small gestures like these are traditional throughout the military. This was one of the charges, that is apparently where the "conversion of Government property" comes from even though he checked it all in according to procedures.
2. He used the remaining annual funds to buy guns and gun parts for the training centers he worked at (while still in the military). Additionally, when military personnel asked him to help them build a gun, he told them what materials to buy and helped them with the build. This is apparently what got him into legal trouble. He never made profit on them. According to some of the other info I have found, the so called 'trades' were also gifts, unsolicited, in return. In the prosecution's files, they list a "pen" as one of the so called trades, among other stuff that is pretty obviously not monetary. Additionally, he helped non-military (IE family and friends) assemble firearms. This is where the so called "manufacture" charges come in.
3. He then retired spec-ops Air Mobility Command, 20 years, with full retirement benefits and a new gig set up training new spec-ops with the Sig Sauer academy as well as several other training centers that train federal officers. This new contracting gig was for the same superior officers and at the same training centers as when he was military. He kept the same funding methodology (and it was all still reported) and completed the same work he was doing while in the military. (He also lost his Military retirement and benefits due to the conviction).
4. The guns and gun parts did not leave the training centers, except for one that he personally retained or when military would check them out under normal procedures (another person checking out a SBR variant with full auto capability that mimicked an MP5 is apparently what got the ATF sniffing). Considering the long history of soldiers 'bringing home' firearms, this isn't exactly unprecedented that he retained only one gun. And even then, the charges were not pressed on that item but on the typical giveaway stuff that he reported properly.
5. He voluntarily discussed all of this with Special Agent Wendell Palmer ("Palmer") with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations, hiding nothing during their four interviews. If he had believed to have done anything wrong, why would he have been open about it?
6. Special Agent Henry Countryman ("Countryman") with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Special Agent Wendell Palmer ("Palmer") with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations worked together to secure a injunction and case against Arnold. This included Palmer misrepresenting interviews made by witnesses. Several of these witnesses openly complained to the IG of the Air Force that they were misquoted and their statements were fabricated. These witnesses still hold this view. This information was not disclosed to the judge or the jury because the prosecution prevented one of the witnesses from speaking at the trial by getting the judge to threaten contempt of court for speaking with another witness in the hallway. (Win at any cost).
7. As best I can tell through the legalese: charges were for (1 Count) theft and conversion of Government property, (5 Counts) in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 641; (the unlicensed manufacture of and dealing in firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(1)(A); (2 Counts) interstate travel to engage in the unlicensed manufacture of and dealing in firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 924(n); and (1 count) interstate transport of illegally acquired firearms, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 922(a)(3). In other words, a firearms trainer crossed state lines with firearms..... The only one with any merit seems to be theft and conversion of Government property but he still followed proper protocol and had those items checked out. The trial was botched due to the fabricated witness statements and refusal to enter that as evidence or consideration, along with the fact that the prosecution was able to block a witness from testifying.
8. He actually built firearms for training that saved the military time and money in replacement MP5s that apparently are hard to get parts for. SBRs without a tax stamp (but remember he was active military at the time, and the federal training centers retained possession of the builds) that helped with training as if they were MP5s but without the problems of trying to fix and secure parts for the MP5s in the possession of the training centers.

All in all, it seems he only personally retained under 2 grand worth of firearms parts (in the firearm he retained), and yet is a lifelong felon, loses his job, loses his retirement, and has his second amendment rights revoked...

The article makes it out as if he stole the money (in parts), while in reality he followed orders to spend the allotted cash, and used those firearms and builds to make firearms for the training centers (that trained the military members the budget was set aside for...). Along the way other military members and friends wound up asking him to help them with a build and he assisted, without pay, but yet was charged with manufacturing firearms and dealing in firearms.

The Air Force doesn't want to come to his aid because it shines a light on the "Spend it or Lose it" policies that are extremely commonplace but have bad optics. Sig Sauer didn't want to get involved in the debacle because it was before they hired him on when he retired from the Air Force, plus there wasn't really much they could do.
Last edited by PriestTheRunner on Thu Jul 19, 2018 10:14 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Signed and forwarded to others
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Signed and forwarded!
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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213 views and 2 responses, 8 signatures. I thought this forum would be more engaged than this for one of our own...

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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Done. I was #11.
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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sbrawley wrote: Fri Jul 20, 2018 2:39 am Consider it signed and passed along. :patriot:
Thanks for the signatures guys. Feel free to copy my first post and paste it across to other LEO / Vet / gun forums.
If you click "quote", you can copy the url codes and everything so that it is a directed copy and paste (just remove this forum's quote leader and trailer when you copy it).

Thanks!
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Done. I have to admit it took many minutes to understand the story.
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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PriestTheRunner wrote: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:13 pm 213 views and 2 responses, 8 signatures. I thought this forum would be more engaged than this for one of our own...
From what I see above, he bilked the taxpayers and his defense was it's common practice. When I was a teen, the excuse "all my friends are doing it" never got me out of trouble. Why should it now be a valid excuse for a grown adult?
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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BBYC wrote: Fri Jul 20, 2018 12:41 pm
PriestTheRunner wrote: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:13 pm 213 views and 2 responses, 8 signatures. I thought this forum would be more engaged than this for one of our own...
From what I see above, he bilked the taxpayers and his defense was it's common practice. When I was a teen, the excuse "all my friends are doing it" never got me out of trouble. Why should it now be a valid excuse for a grown adult?
The prosecution lumped two different circumstances of charges together to sway the jury to convict. The conversion of government property was because of the "giveaway items". The firearms he built (except for one) stayed with the training centers. The prosecution conflated that issue with him assembling firearms for friends, family and coworkers (who all bought there own parts) to make it seem as if he was converting government funds into firearms to give away to others, when, in reality, those were two distinctly separate activities.

His supervisors signed off on all of his expenditures every month. Everyone involved in the case (including himself) did not believe he had committed a crime (because he hadn't). A firearms trainer built firearms for government training centers with government money. Seems pretty legit to me.

He also bought giveaway items (like golf balls, shot glasses and other small things) to give away to the government employees and military he trained. That is what they pinned the 'conversion' charges on. Pens and golf balls.

I hate excessive spending by our government as much as the next guy, but do you really feel he actually broke a single law? And why not prosecute the superiors who signed off on the spending?

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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Signed.
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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PriestTheRunner wrote: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:13 pm 213 views and 2 responses, 8 signatures. I thought this forum would be more engaged than this for one of our own...
It is likely that folks don't feel they know enough about the matter to sign a petition.

Chas.
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Charles L. Cotton wrote: Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:23 pm
PriestTheRunner wrote: Thu Jul 19, 2018 12:13 pm 213 views and 2 responses, 8 signatures. I thought this forum would be more engaged than this for one of our own...
It is likely that folks don't feel they know enough about the matter to sign a petition.

Chas.
I read the whole story. I signed.
If the story is even reasonably accurate, the "Investigator" and the "Prosecutor" deserve prison terms of their own. I would estimate the proper term would be 10 - 20 years. :mad5
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Re: White House Petition for Timothy Arnold

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Charles L. Cotton wrote: Fri Jul 20, 2018 4:23 pm It is likely that folks don't feel they know enough about the matter to sign a petition.

Chas.
:iagree:

Plus, I’ve read some other sources about the case that gives me enough doubt that I cannot sign the petition.
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