Judge’s Conduct in “We Build the Wall” Case Draws Scrutiny After Timothy Shea Conviction – Tim’s Family Speaks Out (Video)

 

Tim Shea and his family during happier times.

The federal prosecution of Timothy Shea in the “We Build the Wall” case continues to raise serious questions about judicial conduct, jury integrity, defense representation, and sentencing fairness following Shea’s 2023 conviction in the Southern District of New York.

Shea was indicted in August 2020 alongside Stephen Bannon, Brian Kolfage, and Andrew Badolato in connection with the nonprofit organization that raised private funds to construct sections of a border wall. Shea was listed fourth on the indictment and prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York. The case was presided over by U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres.

In January 2021, then-President Donald Trump pardoned Bannon, effectively removing him from federal prosecution. Shea, a Colorado resident who lives in Castle Rock with his wife of 20 years and their three children, ultimately became the only defendant from the original indictment to face trial and incarceration.

Mistrial and Concerns Over Judicial Impartiality

Shea’s first trial in 2022 ended in a mistrial after a week of testimony and more than a week of jury deliberations. Immediately after the jury was dismissed, Judge Torres stated from the bench that she was available the following week to retry the case.

Defense attorneys viewed the remark as improper, noting that the decision to retry a case rests solely with prosecutors, not the court. The comment, they argued, suggested a predisposition toward continuing the prosecution rather than maintaining judicial neutrality.

Several months later, Shea was retried and convicted. What followed intensified concerns about the integrity of the proceedings.

Juror–Prosecutor Connection Disclosed After Verdict

Five days after the guilty verdict, prosecutors submitted a letter to the court disclosing that one of their attorneys had a long-standing personal mentoring relationship with the daughter of a sitting juror. According to the prosecution, the relationship had existed for approximately three years.

The disclosure further revealed that the juror’s daughter contacted the prosecutor twice during the trial—once on the opening day and again on the final day. The communications were not disclosed to the defense until after the verdict.

Despite defense requests, Judge Torres declined to order full production of the emails, allowing prosecutors to submit only a partial excerpt from one message. In that email, the daughter identified her mother as a juror, congratulated the prosecutor on the conviction, and stated that her mother had “enjoyed” serving on the jury.

The defense argued that the undisclosed relationship and communications created an unmistakable appearance of juror taint. Judge Torres denied motions for a mistrial and allowed the conviction to stand.

Tim’s son Jett published a video defending his father on X earlier this month.
Jett wants his innocent father released from prison.

Timothy Shea is the last man left alone in federal prison in the We Build the Wall case. The SDNY conducted a deliberate political witch hunt against conservatives, ultimately resulting in Timothy Shea becoming a victim of it.

Pardon Tim Shea.#FreeTimShea #USCitizen https://t.co/J4eVzoBxEw

— Jett Shea (@JettSheaa) January 7, 2026

Excluded Evidence Related to Bannon Prosecution

The defense also raised concerns over evidence connected to Bannon’s later prosecution by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. After receiving a federal pardon, Bannon was charged by Bragg in a separate state fraud case.

Shea’s attorneys subpoenaed discovery from that proceeding, arguing it was relevant to Shea’s defense and the government’s theory of culpability. On the eve of production, Judge Torres quashed the subpoena, preventing the materials from being introduced at trial.

Subsequent disclosures revealed that Shea was not named as a co-conspirator in the Bannon prosecution—information the defense contends directly undermined the prosecution’s narrative against Shea. The jury was never permitted to hear this evidence.

Indictment Errors, Court-Appointed Counsel, and Sentencing Disparities

After the trial, Shea’s attorneys asserted that the indictment contained errors and that Shea had been convicted of an offense not properly charged. Judge Torres declined to vacate the conviction or grant relief.

Additional concerns arose approximately two weeks after the trial concluded, when Shea’s lead defense attorney, John Meringolo, passed away. Judge Torres subsequently appointed a new attorney, Thomas Nooter, to represent Shea.

Court-appointed criminal defense counsel are typically assigned through a random rotation system based on attorney availability. However, Shea later questioned whether the assignment process in his case was truly random.

According to Shea, Nooter disclosed that he was personally acquainted with Judge Torres and her former husband. Shea was told that Judge Torres’s ex-husband had been one of Nooter’s law school professors and that Nooter would occasionally stop by the judge’s chambers during lunch breaks to greet her.

Shea also raised concerns about Nooter’s legal background and ideological views. Nooter’s primary practice focuses on immigration law, including representing undocumented immigrants seeking to remain in the United States. Shea’s conviction stemmed from his involvement with a nonprofit that supported border wall construction—an issue closely tied to immigration enforcement.

According to Shea, Nooter openly expressed strong opposition to former President Donald Trump and identified himself as politically liberal. Shea and his family argue that these views, combined with Nooter’s personal connections to the presiding judge and lack of criminal trial specialization, undermined confidence in the independence and effectiveness of Shea’s post-trial representation.

At sentencing on August 23, 2023, Judge Torres imposed a 63-month federal prison sentence. Defense counsel described the sentence as extraordinary, noting that comparable cases in the Southern District of New York typically result in sentences ranging from approximately 19 to 22 months.

Shea is currently incarcerated at the Federal Correctional Complex in Florence, Colorado, where he has served approximately 27 months. Of the four individuals named in the original indictment, Shea—listed last and described by his attorneys as having the least involvement—is the only one currently serving a federal prison sentence.

Family Appeals for Clemency

Last week, Shea’s 19-year-old son, Jett Shea, released a public video appealing to President Donald Trump to pardon his father. The family argues that Judge Torres repeatedly sided with prosecutors, disregarded due process concerns, and allowed the conviction and sentence to stand despite significant procedural irregularities.

After three Christmases spent behind bars, the Shea family continues to call for clemency, maintaining that Timothy Shea’s case represents a profound miscarriage of justice.