Bundys
Walk Free! Judge Smacks Down Fed’s Case Against Ranching Family “With
Prejudice” Written
by William F.
Jasper, 1/8/18
Three strikes — you’re OUT!
That was the stunning verdict that U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro
delivered Monday to federal prosecutors, who had failed in two previous
attempts to convict Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy and his two sons, Ryan and
Ammon, of multiple felony charges related to the 2014 armed standoff
between Bundy supporters and federal agents .
As we reported previously, Judge Navarro had cited
multiple egregious abuses by federal authorities in her declaration of a
mistrial on December 20. However, in that ruling she had left open the
possibility of another retrial, which is what the prosecutors were arguing in
favor of. Her latest ruling dismissed the charges “with prejudice,” meaning the
government may not retry the case. Judge Navarro’s decision, which she read to
a courtroom packed with Bundy family members and supporters, was a forceful
smack-down to the federal government, using words not often heard in judicial
rulings.
"The government's
conduct in this case was indeed outrageous," the judge stated. "There
has been flagrant misconduct, substantial prejudice and no lesser remedy is
sufficient." She also used words such as “especially egregious,” “grossly
shocking,” and "reckless disregard," in her stinging rebuke of the
federal government’s misconduct. The judge found prosecutors had engaged in a
"deliberate attempt to mislead" and had made multiple
misrepresentations — both to the defense and to the court — regarding
exculpatory “Brady evidence” they are required to produce for the defense.
Instead, they had repeatedly concealed and/or denied the existence of the
evidence.
The three Bundys and a
fourth co-defendant, Ryan Payne, faced multiple felony charges, for which they
might have been locked away in prison for decades: conspiracy, threatening a
federal officer, carrying and using a firearm during the confrontation. They
had already spent two years in prison, at the time of her mistrial ruling in
December. Judge Navarro had released the Bundys before Christmas, but required
them to stay under house arrest with GPS monitoring devices. The sons, Ammon and Ryan,
opted for the release, but Cliven elected to stay in jail, insisting that he
intended to walk out of the prison a free man, without another trial hanging
over his head, and with his good name restored.
"I've been a
political prisoner for right at 700 days today," the senior Bundy said, outside the courthouse, with his wife,
Carol Bundy. "I come in this courtroom an innocent man and I'm going to
leave as an innocent man. My defense is a 15-second defense. I raised my cattle
only on Clark County, Nevada, land and I have no contract with the federal
government. This court has no jurisdiction and authority over this matter. And I
have put up with the court in America as a political prisoner for two
years."
It appears his
perseverance has paid off, and Cliven Bundy is, once again, a free man. The
federal bureaucrats and prosecutors — as well as politicians, such as former
Nevada Senator Harry Reid — and their media allies, who have persecuted Bundy
and smeared the Bundy family, have been exposed. However, as a previous court ruling in the case of the Hage ranching
family shows,
unless the federal Department of Justice pursues significant legal penalties
against the culpable bureaucrats and prosecutors in the Bundy case, there is
good reason to believe that these flagrant abuses will continue.
Comments
The
Prosecutors need to be forced to reimburse the Bundys for their legal expenses.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
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