Exclusive: DOJ 'weaponization' victim still in jail, asking for Trump pardon

The “Russia hoax” was also used to target other Republicans including Florida native and Texas-based Republican political consultant Michael Shirley, his attorney and supporters argue. 

Shirley is currently incarcerated at a minimum-security prison camp in Miami and is calling on Trump for a full pardon. In his first week in office, President Donald Trump pardoned more than 1,500 people, including Biden DOJ "weaponization” victims.

"What happened to me is not just wrong, it was evil,” Shirley told The Center Square in an email in an exclusive interview. “My liberty was stripped because I wouldn't play my part in the Biden DOJ's grand scheme to prevent a second Trump presidency and a Republican takeover of Congress. The Left always screams of tyranny if Trump was elected, but I witnessed true tyranny first-hand under Biden. The ultimatum given to me: prison or parrot their lies. They needed my help smearing their opponents, no matter how far-fetched the source material was.”

Biden DOJ officials attempted to pressure Shirley to “revive the discredited Russia hoax against Donald Trump; falsely claim the 2018 Florida recounts – which elected Gov. Ron DeSantis and Sen. Rick Scott – were stolen; falsely confess to the existence of an illegal GOP fundraising operations to impede the 2024 elections,” Austin based Republican political consultant Andy Hogue told The Center Square in an exclusive interview. Hogue previously ran for mayor of Leander, Texas, and Shirley was his consultant at the time.

“I stood my ground against their lies when Democrats controlled everything. No one came to save me,” Shirley said. “Now, I sit here as a forgotten political prisoner – because I refused to lie.”

Biden DOJ prosecutors initially accused Shirley of bribing former Seminole County, Fla., Tax Collector Joel Greenberg but ultimately charged him with conspiracy to commit honest services fraud. They argued that Shirley adding billing rates to his invoices “caused the tax collector’s office to enter into a lucrative consulting contract with Shirley’s newly formed company, Praetorian Integrated Services LLC.” They also argued Shirley acted as a “de facto” public employee even though he was not a government employee. 

Former Austin City Councilmember Mackenzie Kelly argues Shirley’s billing practice was “entirely legal and routine in professional services.” His defense team questioned why he was tried in federal court, not county or state court. They also questioned why federal prosecutors refused to call their star witness, Greenberg, whose statements in previous legal proceedings were used to obtain the indictment. The appellate court has agreed to hear oral testimony.

His defense points to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling in which justices warned that prosecutors might abuse the honest services statute, especially through erroneous jury instructions. This is what happened in Shirley’s case, his attorney argues: jury instructions were changed, and one juror was replaced. The judge refused to declare a mistrial. Shirley was indicted in 2022 and convicted in July 2023. He was sentenced to seven years in prison.

Shirley told The Center Square that during his trial, Biden DOJ prosecutors’ “bogus claims fell apart, and they were forced to twist the law and jury instructions to create a conviction.”

“If the DOJ can change the boundaries of the law on a whim during trial to convict someone they politically oppose, no American is safe,” Shirley said. 

"The DOJ’s case against Mr. Shirley was so tenuous that it abandoned its initial allegations and pivoted to an unfounded claim that Mr. Shirley’s invoicing practices were illegal, falsely categorizing him as a public official,” his attorney, Dr. Gavin Clarkson of Katy, Texas, said. “The regime’s desperation became evident during the trial. The truth is clear: the accusations against Mr. Shirley were based on lies and political malfeasance.

“Mr. Shirley’s appeal is ongoing, but he should not have to endure prolonged incarceration while awaiting an uncertain resolution. Immediate relief – whether through a pardon, commutation, or overturning of his conviction – is necessary.”

In 2021, Greenberg pleaded guilty to six felonies and was sentenced to 11 years in prison. He was linked to former U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-FL, who was accused of paying for sex with an underage girl. Gaetz denied the allegations and no charges were brought against him.

“The prolife prisoners had a foundation working to free them,” Hogue told The Center Square. “The J6ers had the benefit of mass media coverage. But who does Mike Shirley have? Friends and family. It’s surprising to me no matter how many clients he’s had at any level no one has stood up for him.”

Hogue sent letters on behalf of Shirley to a field office of every member of Texas’ congressional delegation. Only Republicans Sens. Ted Cruz and John Cornyn replied, he said. 

He’s hoping the Trump administration will pardon Shirley “because there is no sense in having him sit in jail while his appeal is ongoing. He is no danger to anybody.”