To All United American Patriots,
Thank you for your continued support for UAP and our Warriors. I am writing in response to the San Diego Union Tribune’s August 7, 2019, article regarding US Navy Chief Eddie Gallagher and allegations that the Gallagher family has not paid legal fees incurred in his defense. Please know, UAP is not a party to any arbitration or litigation concerning the Gallagher family.
Moreover, UAP has no contract with Chief Gallagher for the provision of legal services, as UAP has no attorneys on staff and does not control any attorneys retained by the Warriors we support and for whom we provide funding for legal defense. Instead, Chief Gallagher entered into a private contract with the attorney of his choice, Colby Vokey. Chief Gallagher and Mr. Vokey have a contract to which UAP is not a party. A private dispute between a former client and his attorney is no business of UAP’s, especially given that Mr. Vokey neither consulted nor coordinated with UAP prior to proceeding to seek collection of his unpaid legal fees.
Concerning Attorney Tim Parlatore’s comments about UAP, they are misplaced and uninformed. Although UAP paid $77,000 to defend Chief Gallagher (which was over 100% of what UAP raised on behalf of Chief Gallagher), the Gallagher family made it clear, in March 2019, that UAP’s support was no longer needed and that any efforts to raise funds for Chief Gallagher should stop immediately. UAP complied with the Gallagher family’s instructions. UAP considers the result of Chief Gallagher’s trial a great victory for military justice, especially with the light of day showing prosecutorial misconduct, bugging/spying, sensationalizing, witness shaping, and irresponsible uses of immunity. We are extremely happy for Chief Gallagher and his win and wish Chief Gallagher and his family well.
To be clear, UAP is not suing anyone, especially not one of our former clients. Additionally, it is our understanding, Chief Gallagher is not being sued. We also understand his unpaid legal expenses are actually being submitted for arbitration, as an arbitration paragraph is normal for most attorney-client contracts. Again, UAP’s agreement is with the Warrior and not with his lawyer. Once the Warrior has an attorney and once the normal legal contract between the attorney and the defendant is in place, the Warrior then applies for UAP support. This policy ensures that UAP stays out of the attorney-client relationship. While Mr. Vokey is on the UAP Advisory Board and provides great insight based upon his years of success in defending multiple Warriors, he is not on UAP’s Board of Directors. UAP’s Advisory Board is separate from UAP’s Board of Directors and has no decision making authority over UAP.
When attorneys were on UAP’s Board of Directors, as they were, at times, in the past, they were not eligible to vote on, nor make any decisions related to, any matter which they may be representing or litigating. It is important to note, UAP provides support for each Warrior and agrees to pay legal fees (not all expenses), regardless of who the Warrior chooses as their attorney and, in quite a few cases, Warriors have switched attorneys, for whatever reason, yet, UAP continues to support the Warrior. The exception to this is, of course, if the Warrior no longer wants UAP to raise funds on his behalf.
At that point, without the Warrior’s permission for UAP to raise funds on his behalf, UAP is no longer able to provide funding for that Warrior’s legal defense. Even after Mr. Vokey’s left the case, UAP continued to confirm that Chief Gallagher’s legal fees would be paid. However, the Gallagher family insisted that UAP stop all fundraising efforts for Chief Gallagher. At this time, UAP continues to fight to ensure “the US Constitution is not absent without leave” during any military justice investigation, trial, or appeal so our Warriors are afforded all of the Rights they swear to support and defend, especially while going in harm’s way on our behalf. We are also looking forward to continuing our support for the “Rights For Warriors” Congressional Caucus, of which SGT Derrick Miller is presently the lead Congressional Staffer.
SGT Miller’s involvement on Capitol Hill is significant because, Mr. Vokey, just this past May, was able to secure SGT Miller’s release from prison at Ft Leavenworth after SGT Miller served just 8-year of a wrongful accusation, unjust conviction, and inappropriate sentence of life in prison for SGT Miller’s actions in combat – actions which not only saved his own life but ultimately, his actions saved the lives of others in his unit.
Semper Fidelis,
Robert Weimann Lt. Col, USMC (Ret.)
Chairman of the Board
United American Patriots
