Thread: Case against Cliven Bundy, Nevada rancher involved in 2014 armed standoff, declared a

Case against Cliven Bundy, Nevada rancher involved in 2014 armed standoff, declared a mistrial
12/20/2017
William La Jeunesse reports for 'Special Report.'

A federal judge declared a mistrial Wednesday in the case of a Nevada rancher accused of leading an armed standoff against the government in 2014, blaming prosecutors for withholding key evidence from defense lawyers, including records about the conduct of FBI and Bureau of Land Management agents.

Chief U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro in Las Vegas dismissed a jury seated last month for the long-awaited trial of Cliven Bundy, his sons Ryan and Ammon Bundy and self-styled Montana militia leader Ryan Payne.
The decision is the latest in a string of failed prosecutions in Nevada and Oregon against those who have opposed federal control of vast swaths of land in Western states.


A federal judge declared a mistrial in the case against a Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy accused of leading a 2014 armed standoff with federal agents in a cattle grazing dispute. (AP Photo)


Jurors acquitted the two Bundy sons of taking over a federal wildlife refuge in Oregon for more than a month in early 2016 and amid calls for the U.S. government to turn over public land to local control.

In the Nevada case, Navarro faulted federal prosecutors for failing to turn over all evidence to defense attorneys.

"The government is obligated to disclose all evidence that might be favorable" to the defense, the judge said.

The case stemmed from an armed confrontation that capped a decades long dispute over Cliven Bundy's refusal to pay grazing fees. The 71-year-old rancher says his family has grazed cattle for more than a century in the area and insists public land belongs to states, not the U.S. government.

Government agents began rounding up his cattle. The four on trial were accused of enlisting armed gunmen to force government agents to abandon the effort.

The judge had hinted last week that trouble was afoot. She sent the jury home to review sealed documents following closed-door hearings over complaints about the conduct of FBI and Bureau of Land Management agents during the standoff.

Jurors got a glimpse of the claims when Ryan Bundy, who represented himself, spoke at opening statements about seeing government snipers and surveillance cameras positioned on hilltops surrounding his family home in the days before armed supporters answered his family's calls for help.




This undated combination of file photos provided by the Multnomah County, Ore., Sheriff's Office shows from left; Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his sons Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy and co-defendant Ryan Payne. (AP/Multnomah County Sheriff's Office)


A whistleblower memo by a lead U.S. Bureau of Land Management investigator that was released last week alleges widespread bad judgment, bias and misconduct, as well as "likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and supervisory staff" in the days leading up to the standoff.

The memo said agents who planned and oversaw the cattle roundup mocked and displayed clear prejudice against the Bundys, their supporters and Mormons.

The investigator, Larry Wooten, said he was removed from the investigation last February after he complained to the U.S. attorney's office in Nevada.

The judge freed the Bundy sons and Payne to house arrest during the trial after nearly two years in jail. Cliven Bundy refused the judge's offer, with his lawyer saying the patriarch was holding out for acquittal.

"A mistrial is a very bad result for the government," Ian Bartrum, a University of Nevada, Las Vegas, law professor who has followed the case closely told the Associated Press.

Bartrum had cast the trial as a test of whether the federal government could enforce its own land policy in Western states where it owns or controls vast expanses.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre had no immediate answer when asked by the Associated Press about whether prosecutors would retry the case, but according to Reuters, a new trial date was set for Feb. 26, 2018.
In a new trial, the Bundys and Payne still would face 15 felony charges including assault and threats against federal officers, firearms counts, obstruction and extortion.

Prosecutors also failed to win full convictions against others at the tense confrontation near Bunkerville, about 80 miles northeast of Las Vegas.

Six men who acknowledged carrying assault-style weapons faced a trial and a retrial. Two were acquitted, two were convicted of some charges and two are free after pleading guilty to misdemeanors to avoid a third trial.

None was found guilty of conspiracy.

Payne had pleaded guilty in July 2016 to a felony conspiracy charge before trial in the armed takeover of the Oregon wildlife refuge. He's now fighting to withdraw his plea and his expected sentence of more than three years in prison.
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2017/12/20...ven-bundy.html

Mistrial declared in Cliven Bundy standoff case

Updated 7:02 PM; Posted 12:00 PM992
Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com



The Oregonian/OregonLive

LAS VEGAS - A federal judge Wednesday declared a mistrial in the prosecution of Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, his two sons and a co-defendant, citing the government's "willful'' failure to turn over multiple documents that could help the defense fight conspiracy and assault charges in the 2014 Bunkerville standoff.

"The court does regrettably believe a mistrial in this case is the most suitable and only remedy,'' U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro declared, issuing her ruling from the bench before a packed courtroom.

The judge listed six documents or types of evidence that she said prosecutors deliberately withheld before trial, including information about the presence of an FBI surveillance camera on a hill overlooking the Bundy ranch and documents about U.S. Bureau of Land Management snipers outside the ranch.

The others were maps, an FBI log with entries about snipers on standby, threat assessments that indicated the Bundys weren't violent and that the Bureau of Land Management was trying to provoke a conflict by antagonizing them and nearly 500 pages of internal affairs documents involving lead bureau special agent Dan Love, since fired from the agency.

The material, the judge found, would bolster the defense stance that defendant Ryan Payne put a call out for support because the Bundys feared they were surrounded by snipers and felt isolated in early April 2014 before the standoff with federal rangers and officers on April 12, 2014, over a court-ordered roundup of Bundy cattle for failure to pay grazing fees and fines for two decades.

The information also would also help refute the government's indictment that alleged the defendants used deceit to draw supporters by "falsely'' contending snipers were posted around the ranch.

"The failure to turn over such evidence violates due process,'' the judge said.

Prosecutors had belittled Ryan Bundy's pretrial motion for information on the "mysterious'' devices outside the family ranch in 2014 as "fantastical'' and a "fishing expedition,'' the judge noted. The government willfully withheld a March 28, 2014, law enforcement operation order and an FBI report that showed there was an FBI camera trained on the Bundy home for surveillance.

The FBI's SWAT team put the camera up, repaired it and monitored a live feed from it. The U.S. Attorney's Office was aware of this and didn't share information about the camera until the defense heard a witness confirm its presence.

"The government falsely represented the camera that was on the Bundy house was incidental, not purposeful,'' the judge said.

The judge also found prosecutors withheld a March 3, 2015, FBI report that identified a Bureau of Land Management agent in tactical gear and carrying an AR-15 rifle outside the family ranch on April 5 and April 6, 2014.

In addition, she cited an FBI log with entries that said "snipers were inserted'' and on standby outside the Bundy home. Three entries in the log mentioned snipers present, Navarro noted. Prosecutors claimed they were unaware of the log at first because it was kept on a thumb drive in a tactical vehicle.

"The government is still responsible for information from the investigating agency. The FBI chose not to disclose it,'' Navarro said.

That, coupled with "the government's strong insistence at prior trials that there were no snipers,'' convinced her the withholding of the sniper evidence was done knowingly.
She also cited at least four threat assessments that indicated the Bundys likely wouldn't use violence but "would get in your face''and that the Bureau of Land Management was antagonizing the family. The threat evaluations were made by the FBI Behavioral Analysis Unit, the Southern Nevada Counter Terrorism unit, the FBI Nevada Joint Terrorism Task Force, the Gold Buttle Cattle Impound Risk Assessment and the Bureau of Land Management law enforcement arm.

The judge further identified 493 pages of internal affairs documents on BLM agent Love that said there were no documented injuries to endangered desert tortoises by cattle grazing on the federal land. That's the reason the federal land agency sought to curtail the senior Bundy's grazing permit in 1993 and limit the number of cattle on public land.


Prosecutors ordered to share reports on any camera, armed officers' surveillance outside Bundy ranch
Lead prosecutor Steven Myhre called defense requests for more discovery evidence a "tactic for delay.'' But judge ound merit in them.

The mistrial dealt a significant setback to federal prosecutors, yet they may be able to retry the defendants. Both sides were instructed to submit legal briefs by Dec. 29 on whether the government should be allowed to pursue a new trial.

The judge indicated she'd likely make a future ruling on whether the case should be a mistrial with prejudice, meaning no future trial would be held. A new tentative trial date, however, was set for Feb. 26.

The Nevada U.S. Attorney's office had no comment, said Trisha Young, a spokeswoman for the federal prosecutors.

The Bundys and their supporters called the ruling a partial victory. They had sought a full dismissal of the case, and will continue to do so.

Defense lawyers are expected to challenge any effort to retry Cliven Bundy, Ammon Bundy, his older brother Ryan Bundy and Payne, arguing that it was the government's failure to share relevant evidence before trial that caused the mistrial and trying it again would amount to double jeopardy.

"To have an actual order from the court or for her to say those things does bring a lot of vindication to us,'' Ammon Bundy said after he emerged from the courthouse. "They came on us and provoked us, and we acted appropriately.''

The Bundy brothers and Payne walked out of the downtown courthouse together, their arms linked, along with Cliven Bundy's wife, Carol, and Jeanette Finicum, wife of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum, killed by state police in Oregon on Jan. 26, 2016, after he sped off from a police stop leaving the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge that he and the Bundy brothers had occupied.

Maxine Bernstein
✔@maxoregonian

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12:57 PM - Dec 20, 2017
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The development in the high-profile, long-anticipated case disturbed public land and environmental advocates, who worry that the identified government lapses may bolster the defendants and loyalists in their rejection of federal authority and intensify their fervor against federal control of public lands.

"Any federal stumbling in this prosecution still doesn't relieve the fact the Bundys have been breaking the law by grazing their cattle unlawfully on public land, and their cows are still out there every day endangering protected species,'' said Taylor McKinnon, a public lands campaigner with the Center for Biological Diversity. "We want that problem fixed.''

McKinnon and Kieran Suckling, the center's executive director, held a large banner outside the Nevada courthouse to protest the Bundys. Bundy followers stood in front and behind them. McKinnon and Suckling also were counter-protesters in 2016 at Malheur refuge takeover in southeastern Oregon.


Outcome of latest Bundy trial will have repercussions for national lands debate
The trial of Cliven Bundy, sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne begins Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2017, in Las Vegas in the April 2014 standoff with federal rangers who were trying to impound the elder Bundy's cattle.

The two are concerned that if the Bundys aren't held accountable for their actions, it will give further credence to their "militant participation in a broader move to seize public lands and hand them over to states.''

The judge's ruling marked at least the third time the Bundy family has thwarted a federal agency action: On April 12, 2014, at the Toquap Wash near Bunkerville, federal rangers retreated from carrying out a court-ordered cattle impoundment when they were met by hundreds of militia and armed supporters of Cliven Bundy and his family; in October 2016, a jury acquitted Ammon and Ryan Bundy and five others of federal conspiracy charges in the armed seizure of the Malheur refuge; and now.

The lack of any immediate prosecution after the 2014 standoff emboldened the Bundy sons to move into Oregon about a year and a half later with a small brigade of self-styled militants. They led the 41-day occupation of the refuge, a 187,756-acre federal bird sanctuary where ranchers also had clashed with government agents.

Maxine Bernstein
✔@maxoregonian
https://www.pscp.tv/w/bQla1TQ4NjI3N3wxZFJKWmJlWWVnREpChmLMwukGgFhLynTyr4 XlRfK9Rt8biTTIB2MN1CBpCH0= …
1:07 PM - Dec 20, 2017
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Going into this trial against the Bundy patriarch and his sons, prosecutors also faced heightened pressure after being largely unsuccessful earlier this year in two trials of more minor figures in the Bunkerville standoff. Except for guilty verdicts against two of six lesser players, the trials ended with acquittals or hung juries.

The senior Bundy, his two sons and Montana militiaman Payne were accused of rallying supporters to stop federal agents from impounding the Bundy family cattle for trespassing on public land near Bunkerville, about 75 miles northeast of Las Vegas, after Cliven Bundy failed to pay grazing fees and fines for two decades.

Navarro dismissed the jury on what would have been the start of a third week of testimony in a trial that was expected to last four months. Only three government witnesses had been called before the jury in nine days of testimony, with many breaks, delays and interruptions due to sealed hearings before the judge.

"It is not possible for us to go forward with this case,'' Navarro told the jury, apologizing for the inconvenience this has caused them.


Nevada standoff trial: What you need to know
Nevada standoff trial: What you need to know

The judge thanked the 12 jurors and four alternate jurors for their service. As they filed out of the courtroom, Ryan Bundy expressed his own gratitude.

"I would just like to personally thank you for being here,'' he said. "I appreciate your time and your service.''

The Bundy brothers said that the judge's ruling confirmed what they knew and don't believe the case can go forward.

Maxine Bernstein
✔@maxoregonian

https://www.pscp.tv/w/bQlgDzQ4NjI3N3wxTHl4QlJyV2RPb3hOijH3H5QY0Q7CsTsL8h L-J4gBGG-pcvsdv1Wgs48ujSM= …
1:29 PM - Dec 20, 2017
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Cliven Bundy's lawyer Bret Whipple said he would submit an emergency motion to request Cliven Bundy's release from jail without any conditions. Cliven Bundy won't leave until he has no conditions restricting him.

Of the judge's mistrial decision, Whipple said of his client, "I don't think he was surprised. I think at the end of the day we always anticipated this would be the end of result.''
Whipple said he was somewhat disappointed the case didn't get to a jury, leaving no finality.

But Whipple said he was struck by the judge's findings that each of the discovery violations were willful, and as a lawyer, he said he was disappointed in the prosecution's actions.

"The judge said what she said for a reason, and there's significance to her words,'' Whipple said. "We believe also built in her statements was the fact that it was prejudicial, that it was malicious or reoccurring, and this will be the end of the Bundy trial.''

-- Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian
http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-sta...ml#incart_2box

From the Archive


BLM Shame: Shocking Scenes of Animal Abuse Left Behind at Bundy Ranch in Nevada

APRIL 22, 2014 BY 21WIRE 108 COMMENTS
SEE ALSO: EXCLUSIVE: Evidence of BLM Deadly Abuse of Animals Taken from Bundy Ranch
(WARNING: Article contains graphic images of severe animal abuse and mutilation)
SPECIAL REPORT
21st Century Wire

After being forced to vacate public lands by ranchers, militia and many peaceful protesters, it seems that Uncle Sam left a most disturbing calling card of all at the BundyRanch. This week farmers and public officials have unearthed more fresh evidence proving the existence of US taxpayer-funded mass animal graves – left behind at the Bureau of Land Management’s field operations compound.

So far, it is believed a least a dozen previously healthy animals have been found either shot in the head, discarded and buried, in what can only be described as a merciless, industrial-scale kidnapping and murdering of cattle by the US federal government.

As yet, it is unknown just how many of the Bundy family’s prize herd were shot or killed by running cows to death in the desert heat using gov’t helicopters, as more dead animals are being discovered each day – some on the open plain, and others buried in the Gold Butte area. Reports also confirm that many baby calves were also left for dead after being separated from their mothers during the aggressive US government round-up.

Nearly two weeks ago, 21WIRE was the first media outlet to raise the question of the BLM killing cattle on the Bundy Ranch.

Ranchers first became suspicious of that the BLM may have been killing cattle last week on April 9th, when members of the Bundy family spotted heavy equipment – ‘back hoe’ diggers and dump trucks, moving in and out of the BLM’s secret federal compound. When the residents and supporters confronted BLM federal agents with questions regarding their operation they were met with a wall of denial, followed by an aggressive attack where men and women were beaten and repeatedly tasered by BLM agents. In hindsight, it is now clear that those protesters were correct and that federal agents were evading discovery of their crimes. The incident involving protesters and federal agents was caught on video by Guerilla Media Network (GMN), which helped to elevate the issue to a national platform, as well as making it one of the fastest viral YouTube videos ever – accumulating over 1 million views in only 4 days. Watch GMN’s video here:


.
Included in the federal cull were two prize bulls killed by federal ‘contract cowboys’ (see image below).

The US federal government’s original ‘plan’ was to pay a Utah contracted ‘wrangler’ an estimated $966,000 to rustle the Bundy’s free grazing herd and then ship them across state lines to Utah, where they would be sold at auction. This plan was sidelined after Utah Gov. Gary Herbert refused to allow the contraband cattle into his state, citing public health and other concerns.

Last week GMN revealed a recording of the BLM’s Special Agent in Charge, Daniel P. Love,who insisted on more than one occasion that the BLM ‘did not killed any cattle’.

In response, Nevada state Assemblywoman Michelle Fiore rebuked Love’s claim, saying, “He’s a flat out liar, period.”
Fiore also told Breitbart News, “I have literally gotten e-mails from ranchers across Nevada telling me that the BLM does the same practices when they are herding horses. The foals are getting killed. Horses are getting killed. It’s really horrible and cruel. I don’t know any other term than cruel”.

WARNING: Photos below contain graphic images and may disturbing some readers.

DACHAU IN THE DESERT: Following the BLM’s exit from the ranch, farmer began to unearth some disturbing evidence (Photo via TPNN.com)

HORRIFIC: Federal butchers did not even bother to cover their tracks (Photo viaGranitegrok.com)

BLM LIED: Horrific scenes of Bundy cows killed by the BLM (Photos via Michele Fiore@VoteFiore)

CARELESS: Federal agencies ran roughshod over the Bundy Ranch (Photo viaGranitegrok.com)

LEFT FOR DEAD: Federal contractors shot animals who they could not herd (Photo viaTPNN.com)

PRIZE BULL: Another beautiful animal killed and dumped in a pit by the US federal government (Photo Source: Twitter)

UNCLE SAM’S CALLING CARD: Prize Bull was needlessly slaughtered and dumped in a pit by BLM workers (Photo via Granitegrok.com)

DEJECTED: Ranchers left distraught by the scale of US government crimes in Bunkerville, Nevada (Photo via Granitegrok.com)

In addition to the livestock debacle, it is now conformed that the BLM had been systematically vandalizing and destroying water troughs on the ranch for the animals. It is not know when the orders were given to intentionally ruin the water supply and fences, but residents are now suspicious of the possibility that these orders may have been given after the BLM knew they would might be vacating the site prematurely – a spiteful move by a federal government in retreat (certainly be an interesting question for a grand jury hearing).

To think, all of this, perpetrated under the BLM’s alleged banner as “conservationists” acting on behalf of US the Federal Government to save an endangered Desert Tortoise – who it turns out is now being euthanized by the very same government.

More dramatic announcements regarding the Bundy Ranch are set to be announced later this week.

http://21stcenturywire.com/2014/04/2...in-the-nevada/


https://www.alipac.us/f19/blm-shame-...nevada-329231/

From Archive.

BUSTED: HARRY REID OWNS 93 ACRES NEXT TO BUNDY RANCH

Harry Reid has run 52 ranchers out of business so far, just like their recent efforts with Cliven Bundy, because of his ownership in Reid Bunkerville, LLC, which holds 93 acres in Nevada.The parcels seem to be in the way of future development with the Chinese, which may even involve a freeway interchange and loop, and all sit west of the same general area as the land where all these ‘trespassing cattle’ graze.We all know that the Reid crime syndicate had ulterior motives for the attacks on Cliven Bundy. Here’s the
proof.



BELOW ARE THE PARCEL NUMBERS OF LAND WHICH THE CLARK COUNTY ASSESSORS OFFICE LISTS AS OWNED BY REID BUNKERVILLE, LLC, WHO COINCIDENTALLY UPDATED THEIR COMPANY RECORDS ON APRIL 17, 2014. THE PARCEL MAP WITH OWNERSHIP DATA WILL BE SHOWN FOR THE THREE PARCELS REID BUNKERVILLE, LLC OWNS, BELOW THE LINKED PARCEL NUMBERS.

REID BUNKERVILLE L L C DST-901 #002-26-301-002

REID BUNKERVILLE L L C DST-800 #002-26-301-004

REID BUNKERVILLE L L C DST-800 #002-26-301-005

REID BUNKERVILLE L L C DST-800 #002-26-701-001



TO PUT SOME OF THIS INTO CONTEXT AND TO PROVIDE READERS A STARTING POINT ON WHY PARCELS AND OWNERSHIP LISTINGS ARE NOT ONLY IMPORTANT BUT SHOULD BE RESEARCHED EXTENSIVELY, PLEASE NOTE THAT THREE OF THOSE FOUR PARCEL NUMBERS ABOVE ARE LISTED AS BUNKERVILLE JURISDICTION, WHERE MR. CLIVEN BUNDY’S RANCH IS LOCATED.

PARCELS ABOVE AND BELOW ARE LISTED AS OWNED BY USA, JURISDICTION LISTED AS MESQUITE, TWO EXAMPLES OF THAT SHOWN BELOW.

USA #002-26-202-001

USA #002-26-301-001

THE LAST ONE LISTED ABOVE FOR REID BUNKERVILLE, LLC, (REID BUNKERVILLE L L C DST-800 #002-26-701-001) DIRECTLY BORDERS ANOTHER PARCEL IN BUNKERVILLE, AND SHOWS THE “OWNER” AS BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT (BLM), NOT THE USA AS THE EXAMPLES ABOVE ARE.

REID BUNKERVILLE L L C DST-800 #002-26-701-001

BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT #Next Page: »

ACCORDING TO DESCRIPTIONS OF THE BLM, THEIR JOB IS TO “ADMINISTER” OR “MANAGE” PUBLIC LANDS, YET THEY ARE LISTED AS “OWNERS” OF THE PARCEL DIRECTLY CONNECTED TO THE REID BUNKERVILLE PARCEL.

IT IS ALSO NOTEWORTHY THAT A GOOGLE MAP FROM MESQUITE NEVADA, THROUGH BUNKERVILLE, DOWN TO RIVERSIDE, GOES UP TO A FULLY FUNCTIONAL AND BUILT INTERSECTION THAT LOOPS BACK AROUND TO MESQUITE, SHOWN IN THE IMAGE BELOW.



ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT ARE DRIVEN BY “BUSINESS LOOPS”, WHICH USE HIGH SPEED INTERSECTIONS FROM FREEWAYS THAT COST TAXPAYERS MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. THESE CAN INSTANTLY RAISE PROPERTY VALUES FOR LANDOWNERS IN THE RIGHT PLACE WHO KNOW WHERE THE DEVELOPMENT IS GOING TO HAPPEN. DECISIONS FOR THE INFRASTRUCTURE ARE CONTROLLED BY STATE AND LOCAL AND GENERALLY INVOLVE MONEY FROM THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT.

BELOW IS A COMPREHENSIVE REPORT OF PROPERTIES OWNED BY REID BUNKERVILLE TRUST AND REID BUNKERVILLE LLC, SHOWING OVER 30 PROPERTIES IN THE BUNKERVILLE AND MESQUITE AREA.

SOURCE: BEFOREITSNEWS.COM

PHOTO: BEFOREITSNEWS.COM

http://www.truthandaction.org/busted...t-bundy-ranch/

See Thread.

https://www.alipac.us/f19/armed-feds...ancher-300658/

Armed militia group attempting to overthrow the government

Wow .... when does production of the movie start?

It would seem that the FBI, under Mueller, lied about and conducted a covert operation at the Bundy Ranch.

• 
  
  Robert S. Mueller, III, September 4, 2001- September 4, 2013
  Robert Mueller headed the FBI for exactly 12 years, the second longest in history, following legislation in 2011 that extended his tenure by two years.
  https://www.fbi.gov/history/directors