Thread: Judge Declares Mistrial In Standoff Case After Gov’t Misconduct Discovered

Judge Declares Mistrial In Standoff Case After Gov’t Misconduct Discovered

CHRIS WHITE
Energy Reporter
2:18 PM 12/20/2017

A federal judge declared a mistrial in the case against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy after prosecutors willfully withheld evidence showing that government agents behaved illegally during a 2014 standoff.

Judge Gloria Navarro dismissed jurors Wednesday nearly one month after a trial began against Bundy and his sons, Ammon and Ryan Bundy, both of whom were accused three years ago of leading an armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM).

Navarro showed evidence suggesting prosecutors refused to produce records showing agents conducting surveillance on the Bundy Ranch, and threat assessments about the Bundys dating back to 2012. The prosecutors also did not disclose unredacted FBI logs about activity at the ranch in the days around the standoff.

BLM Special Agent Larry Wooten investigated earlier this year the agency’s behavior leading up to the standoff and found “incredible bias” and widespread misconduct and likely illegal actions by the BLM. Prosecutors shared the information with the Bundy’s attorneys after the investigation was made public Dec. 17.

Agents created a “kill list” featuring people who had committed suicide while under investigation by the agency, according to Wooten’s 18-page report. It also showed agents and officials referring to the Bundys as “retards” and “douche bags,” while other officials bragged about “grinding” a Bundy family member’s face into gravel.

Former Special Agent Dan Love, who was responsible for impounding Bundy’s cattle before the standoff, conducted “the most intrusive, oppressive, large scale and militaristic trespass cattle impound possible” against Bundy’s ranch against the direction of the U.S. attorney’s office, according to Wooten.

Navarro set another hearing for January and has tentatively scheduled a new trial to begin Feb. 26.
http://dailycaller.com/2017/12/20/ju...ct-discovered/

A brief read of the Report referenced in the above story has quickly convinced me that the BLM employed small minded power drunk thugs in this operation. The things that they did were trashy, trashy, trashy.

This is the PDF of the report filed by Larry (Clint) Wooten.

https://redoubtnews.com/wp-content/u...ation_77PI.pdf


This is the previous thread but it has gotten entirely too long to add another piece.

Case against Cliven Bundy, Nevada rancher involved in 2014 armed standoff, declared a mistrial
12/20/2017

https://www.alipac.us/f19/case-again...clared-353582/

AG Sessions orders examination of Bundy case after mistrial over prosecution bungling

Government failed to turn over evidence


By Valerie Richardson - The Washington Times - Thursday, December 21, 2017

Attorney General Jeff Sessions has stepped into the Bundy prosecution after Wednesday’s mistrial, ordering a third-party examination of the case in light of the latest government snafu.

“The Attorney General takes this issue very seriously and has personally directed that an expert in the Department’s discovery obligations be deployed to examine the case and advise as to the next steps,” said Ian D. Prior, principal deputy director of public affairs, in a late Wednesday statement.

The decision to intervene came after U.S. District Chief Judge Gloria Navarro declared a mistrial over the government’s “willful failure to disclose information” to the defense, saying it would have been “impossible” for the four co-defendants to receive a fair trial.

“Failure to turn over such evidence violates due process,” Chief Judge Navarro said in the courtroom as reported by the Arizona Republic. “A fair trial at this point is impossible.”

Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan Bundy, and Ryan Payne of Montana have been charged with 15 felony counts stemming from the 2014 armed standoff with the Bureau of Land Management at the Bundy ranch near Bunkerville.

The examination represents the first direct public intervention by the attorney general in the Nevada case, which began last year under then-Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch.

Acting U.S. Attorney Steven W. Myhre, who oversees the prosecution, said he welcomed the input from Washington, D.C.

“We respect the ruling of the Court and take very seriously our discovery obligations,” Mr. Myhre said in a statement. “The Office welcomes the assistance of the Attorney General as we continue to evaluate the case in light of the Court’s ruling.

No deadline was given for the attorney general’s examination, but Chief Judge Navarro set a Jan. 8 hearing on defense motions to dismiss the case. The next trial is tentatively scheduled to begin Feb. 26.

Mr. Sessions has said little in public about the Bundy case. One exception came during a July 12 speech to law enforcement in Las Vegas at which he praised Mr. Myhre and insisted, “I’m not taking sides or commenting on the case,” according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

The trial, which involves 19 defendants spread over three tiers, has been riddled with setbacks for the prosecution, including a previous mistrial, hung juries and acquittals on lesser figures in the April 2014 armed confrontation with BLM agents.

Judge Navarro said the prosecutors had willfully failed to disclose key evidence in the case, including FBI records about surveillance and government snipers at the Bundy ranch; activity logs, law-enforcement threat assessments showing the Bundy family posed no threat of violence, and internal reports about BLM agent misconduct.

She dismissed the jury after seven weeks in the latest trial involving the second of the three tiers of co-defendants.

All four in the latest trial are considered leaders of the confrontation with the BLM, which began after agents tried to impound the ranch’s cattle following Cliven Bundy’s refusal for years to pay grazing fees in a protest over federal land management.

Ian Bartrum, professor at the University of Nevada Las Vegas law school, said that some have questioned the Trump administration’s commitment to the Bundy prosecution, given that “the Bundys are very popular among the Trump base.”

“I’ve even seen some [I think unfounded] claims that US Attorney’s office has deliberately sabotaged its own prosecution,” Mr. Bartrum said in an email. “I think that is very, very unlikely — but this could be a signal that the DOJ is taking the case very seriously, in order to quell those sorts of doubters.”

On the other hand, he said, “this could foreshadow a way out for the prosecution.”

“In other words, the DOJ expert could come in, review the necessary disclosures, and conclude that the government can’t win if it turns everything over,” Mr. Bartrum said. “That would give the US Attorney cover to dismiss the case.”

The government lost its star witness earlier this year when Daniel Love, the BLM agent in charge of the Bundy operation, was fired after a federal investigation found that he misappropriated rare minerals and then told a subordinate to conceal the misconduct.

He had previously been faulted for using his position to obtain tickets to the Burning Man festival.

Larry Klayman, an attorney for Cliven Bundy, urged Mr. Sessions in a Thursday letter to order prosecutors to drop the charges and launch an ethics investigation against Mr. Myhre, his staff and “complicit FBI agents.”

“Jeff, in the interests of justice, much less fundamental fairness, it is now incumbent that you do your job,” said Mr. Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch. “To put it bluntly, the time has come to ‘take sides.’ This travesty must end now.”

https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2017/dec/21/jeff-sessions-orders-examination-bundy-case/

Larry Klayman, an attorney for Cliven Bundy, urged Mr. Sessions in a Thursday letter to order prosecutors to drop the charges and launch an ethics investigation against Mr. Myhre, his staff and “complicit FBI agents.”

“Jeff, in the interests of justice, much less fundamental fairness, it is now incumbent that you do your job,” said Mr. Klayman, founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch. “To put it bluntly, the time has come to ‘take sides.’ This travesty must end now.”

Yes, this is exactly what needs to be done.

Charges against rancher Cliven Bundy, three others are dismissed

VIDEO REPORT AT LINK.

A federal judge dismissed all charges against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy, his two sons and another man on Monday after accusing prosecutors of willfully withholding evidence from Bundy’s lawyers.
U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro cited "flagrant prosecutorial misconduct" in her decision to dismiss all charges against the Nevada rancher and three others.

"The court finds that the universal sense of justice has been violated," Navarro said.

“Either the government lied or [it’s actions were] so grossly negligent as to be tantamount to lying."
- Judge Andrew Napolitano

Bundy's supporters cheered as he walked out of court a free man, hugging his wife. He said he'd been jailed for 700 days as a "political prisoner" for refusing to acknowledge federal authority over the land around his cattle ranch.

On Dec. 20, Navarro declared a mistrial in the high-profile Bundy case. It was only the latest, stunning development in the saga of the Nevada rancher, who led a tense, armed standoff with federal officials trying to take over his land. The clash served as a public repudiation of the federal government.

The Brady rule, named after the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case known as Brady vs. Maryland, holds that failure to disclose such evidence violates a defendant’s right to due process.

“In this case the failures to comply with Brady were exquisite, extraordinary,” said Fox News legal analyst Judge Andrew Napolitano. “The judge exercised tremendous patience.”


To many, Bundy is a folk hero who stood up to the federal government (Associated Press)


The 71-year-old Bundy’s battle with the federal government eventually led to what became known as the Bundy standoff of 2014. But it began long before that.

In the early 1990s, the U.S. government limited grazing rights on federal lands in order to protect the desert tortoise habitat. In 1993, Bundy, in protest, refused to renew his permit for cattle grazing, and continued grazing his livestock on these public lands. He didn’t recognize the authority of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) over the sovereign state of Nevada.

The federal courts sided with the BLM, and Bundy didn’t seem to have a legal leg to stand on. Nevertheless, the rancher and the government continued this dispute for 20 years, and Bundy ended up owing over $1 million in fees and fines.

Things came to a head in 2014, when officials planned to capture and impound cattle trespassing on government land. Protesters, many armed, tried to block the authorities, which led to a standoff. For a time, they even shut down a portion of I-15, the main interstate highway running through Southern Nevada.

Tensions escalated until officials, fearing for the general safety, announced they would return Bundy’s cattle and suspend the roundup.

Afterward, Bundy continued to graze his cattle and not pay fees. He and his fellow protesters were heroes to some, but criminals to the federal government. Bundy, along with others seen as leaders of the standoff, including sons Ammon and Ryan and militia member Ryan Payne, were charged with numerous felonies, including conspiracy, assault on a federal officer and using a firearm in a violent crime. They faced many years in prison.

The Bundy case finally went to trial last October. But just two months later, it ended with Navarro angry, the feds humiliated and Bundy – at least to his supporters – vindicated.

Navarro had suspended the trial earlier and warned of a mistrial when prosecutors released information after a discovery deadline. Overall, the government was late in handing over more than 3,300 pages of documents. Further, some defense requests for information that ultimately came to light had been ridiculed by prosecutors as “fantastical” and a “fishing expedition.”

“Either the government lied or [its actions were] so grossly negligent as to be tantamount to lying,” Napolitano said. “This happened over and over again.”

Navarro said Monday it was clear the FBI was involved in the prosecution and it was not a coincidence that most of the evidence that was held back – which would have worked in Bundy’s favor – came from the FBI, AZCentral reported.

The newspaper said after the courtroom doors opened following Navarro’s ruling, a huge cheer went up from a crowd of spectators that had gathered outside.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2018/01/08/charges-against-rancher-cliven-bundy-three-others-are-dismissed.html

Good! I always thought that whole deal up there stunk to high heaven. Glad to see them freed and so sorry one of their family members died. Was that death investigated? It might need to be now.

RELATED

Armed militia group attempting to overthrow the government

Originally Posted by Judy

Good! I always thought that whole deal up there stunk to high heaven. Glad to see them freed and so sorry one of their family members died. Was that death investigated? It might need to be now.

The guy who died, LaVoy Fincum, was not a family member.
-----------------------------------------------------

What LaVoy Finicum shooting investigation found

Robert 'LaVoy' Finicum's death is investigated

Robert "LaVoy" Finicum was a leader in the 41-day armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife refuge. He was shot and killed Jan. 26, 2016. FBI said he was reaching for a gun when he was shot. Others call his death a murder.

By Les Zaitz | The Oregonian/OregonLive
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on March 08, 2016 at 10:15 AM, updated March 08, 2016 at 10:20 AM


BEND – The results of the police investigation into the shooting death of Robert "LaVoy" Finicum contrast with claims made by witnesses and Finicum supporters since the Jan. 26 shooting.

Finicum was shot as he tried to evade arrest on a rural highway 20 miles north of Burns. He was among leaders of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge on their way to a community meeting in nearby John Day to talk about their cause.

Here's a comparison of the claims versus the investigative findings:

AMBUSH:

Claim: Police trapped Finicum in an ambush intending to kill him.

Investigation: Investigators said operation planners devised a traffic stop to safely take the occupation leaders into custody. Oregon State Police shot and killed Finicum only when he appeared ready to use deadly force.

NO TIME TO STOP:

Claim: Finicum had no chance to stop when encountering the roadblock, forcing him to drive off the road to avoid a collision.

Investigation: Investigators calculated Finicum had 862 feet – nearly the length of three football fields – to stop once he saw the roadblock. A state police van chasing him did manage to stop. Investigators experimented twice, replicating Finicum's estimated speed, and concluded he could have stopped.

FINICUM AND WEAPONS:

Claim: Finicum was unarmed when he was shot.

Investigation: Police found a 9mm Ruger semi-automatic handgun inside Finicum's left jacket pocket. The gun was loaded with a round in the chamber, meaning it was ready to fire. He had two magazines in his right jacket pocket.

HANDS UP OR HANDS DOWN:

Claim: Finicum had his hands up in surrender when police shot him.

Investigation: Investigators said that three times, Finicum had his hands up but lowered them and reached toward his concealed handgun. He was shot after he lowered his hands the third time.

FINICUM'S MOTIONS:

Claim: In motions caught on FBI video, Finicum reached for his side after he was shot there by police. He wasn't reaching for a gun.

Investigation: The state autopsy showed Finicum was shot three times in the back. He had no gunshot wound on his lower left side, the report shows.

WARNED OR NOT?

Claim: Finicum was shot without warning by police while he tried to surrender.

Investigation: State troopers ordered Finicum out of his truck when he initially stopped on the highway.

Later, after he crashed, troopers ordered him at least three times to get on the ground.

GUNSHOT WOUNDS:

Claim: A private autopsy of Finicum showed he had been shot nine times. (Finicum's family has said it had an autopsy done, but hasn't released the results.)

Investigation: The state autopsy identified three bullet wounds.

HEAVY GUNFIRE:

Claim: The last three people remaining in the truck endured a hail of more than 100 bullets fired at close range by police.

Investigation: After Finicum was shot, FBI agents fired several nonlethal "sponge" rounds, the equivalent of a beanbag round, including several that hit a truck window and bounced off. The agents also fired several nonlethal pepper spray rounds and deployed a half-dozen "flash-bangs." Ryan Bundy suffered a minor shrapnel wound but the other two passengers needed no medical care.

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-sta...investiga.html

It is over and Bundy is home with his family. Too bad for Harry Reid, Rory Reid and Neil Kornze of the BLM, they failed. IMO