A Hero Betrayed: The Outrageous Injustice Against Martha Byrne’s Husband

On my recent broadcast, I had the privilege of speaking with Martha Byrne, author of In the Interest of Justice: One Woman’s Fight Against a Weaponized Justice Department to Save Her Husband. Her story is not just a personal tragedy—it’s a chilling warning of how far our justice system has strayed from its constitutional moorings. Martha’s husband, a decorated NYPD sergeant and 9/11 first responder with 78 medals, is now sitting in a federal prison in Milan, Michigan, for a crime he didn’t commit. This is a story of betrayal, corruption, and a justice system rigged against the innocent.Martha’s husband, a hero who served New York’s toughest precincts, was forced to retire after a severe on-the-job car accident. He reinvented himself as a private investigator, taking on routine cases to support his family. In 2016, he received a call from a translation company in Queens for a standard job: asset searches, surveillance, and background checks. He hired two NYPD detectives, notified local police of his surveillance, and completed the work, earning a few thousand dollars. It was a job like countless others—until October 28, 2020, when the FBI showed up at his door.The charges? Violating the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA) and interstate stalking. The accusations stemmed from his 2017 surveillance of a high-ranking Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official from Wuhan, a man accused of embezzlement, bribes, and immigration fraud, who had fled to the U.S. and was living illegally. This official, who donated to Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign under his own name, was the supposed “victim.” Martha’s husband had all the documentation to prove his innocence: invoices, communications, and evidence that he had no knowledge of any foreign government involvement. He even spoke freely to the arresting officer for 90 minutes, confident the charges were a mistake.But the Department of Justice (DOJ) had other plans. When Martha’s husband refused to take a plea deal, the DOJ doubled down, determined to bankrupt and break him. The trial was a sham. The judge barred critical evidence: his interrogation video, details of the $30 million civil lawsuit against the CCP official, and the official’s criminal history in China and the U.S. No one testified against him. The alleged victims couldn’t even identify him in court. Yet, prosecutors fabricated stories, claiming he was involved in a nonexistent meeting at a New Jersey mall. The case agent, Christopher Bruno, never testified—a fact so unusual that a former FBI agent told Martha he’d never heard of such a thing in his career.In June 2023, Martha’s husband was found guilty. The judge sentenced him to 18 months in federal prison, citing his “lack of remorse” for victims who were, in reality, criminals themselves. Just eight days ago, he surrendered to a low-security prison 600 miles from his family, leaving Martha and their three children—ages 19, 22, and 27, one of whom followed in his father’s footsteps as a police officer—to pick up the pieces. The family faces millions in legal debt, their lives upended by a system that punished a hero for doing his job.What’s most disturbing is the apparent motive. Martha believes her husband’s arrest, timed a week before the 2020 election, was a political stunt to create headlines about cracking down on Chinese influence while deflecting from Hunter Biden’s China ties. The DOJ’s actions suggest a deeper agenda: the Red Bank, New Jersey FBI office hid the case from New York supervisors, lied on search warrants, and spied on Martha’s family without probable cause. Worse, FBI agents were in active communication with the CCP official, even receiving “thank you” notes related to his immigration status. This raises serious questions about national security and the DOJ’s priorities.Martha’s fight has already made waves. In October 2024, James Comer’s Oversight Committee gave the DOJ a failing grade, citing her husband’s case as evidence of government weaponization. No other private investigator has been charged since, a testament to their battle to protect others from similar overreach. But the cost has been immense. Martha’s husband, a man who ran into burning buildings and worked pro bono to free the wrongly accused, feels betrayed by the justice system he served. In a heart-wrenching video before surrendering, he called his imprisonment a “deployment” to fight for Americans’ freedoms, decrying the “evil” of corrupt FBI agents who “betrayed their badge and oath.”This case isn’t just about one family—it’s about all of us. If a decorated NYPD hero can be targeted, tried, and imprisoned on fabricated charges, with evidence suppressed and a judge complicit, what hope do ordinary Americans have? We are not living in a free society when federal agents and courts can violate constitutional rights for political gain. As I said on my show, patriotism demands we speak truth: our God-given rights are being trampled, and we’re all on borrowed time if this continues.Martha’s book, In the Interest of Justice, lays bare the facts, letting readers see the outrage for themselves. I urge you to get it on Amazon and follow her on X at @MarthaByrne10 for updates. Pray for her husband’s safety, for their family’s strength, and for a swift pardon from President Trump, who I believe is aware of this case thanks to advocates like Ed Martin and Congressman Mike Lawler. Most importantly, pray for accountability. As Martha’s husband said, “Without accountability, nothing changes.” We must demand reform to stop this weaponized system from destroying more lives. This is not the America we celebrate on the Fourth of July. It’s time to fight for the liberty we claim to cherish.