Bundy Appeal Update: Just a Handful of Documents? (Part 2)

In my last post, I addressed the Federal Prosecutors’ third extension request in late January this year and their appeal, finally filed February 6^th, seeking to overturn U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro’s January 2018 dismissal of their case against Cliven Bundy and three other defendants. Judge Navarro reasoned the government’s failure to turn over key evidence was “flagrant prosecutorial misconduct” – a serious violation of due process.

 

In the appeal, Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth White waved-off the government failure as “simple inadvertence” concerning only “a handful of documents.”

 

Nice try. Simply put, it’s not the “handful,” it’s what that “handful” reveals.

 

As we saw last time, the documents actually strengthen the defense. The first two uncovered the tip of prosecutorial deceit: The prosecution-termed “certain maps” which actually confirm the breadth of law enforcement agency involvement and deployment – facts both material to the defense and denied by the prosecution in Navarro’s court. And the BLM Internal Affairs’ Mojave Desert Tortoise Habitat Report, whose existencethey denied in Navarro’s court, but had actually been used to get the court order to remove Bundy’s cattle from his ranch’s grazing range rights triggering the events leading to the trial.

 

But wait! There’s more! – beginning with the “302” Reports. These are Federal investigators’ official field reports which become important during a trial because they are supposed to be filed soon-after each of these Federal Agents’ investigative events.

 

In Cliven Bundy: American Patriot, I noted one of Judge Navarro’s reasons for dismissing the case was:

 

The revelation that some of the Government Criminal Reports, called 302s, were written in November 2017 – NOT in 2014, as one would expect. They were written only after being requested by the defense after the testimony of Dan Love and the other BLM and OIG officers in October 2017. The only plausible explanation is that the reports were written years later to corroborate the fraudulent narrative the prosecution had put forth and to dispute Love’s testimony.

 

The defense contended that these 302s were rewritten or modified to put the prosecution in a better light, but the prosecution claimed they couldn’t find them, so the documents were “recreated” from memory.

 

And the “handful” also including: A logistics record, called a “TOC log” maintained by the FBI SWAT team (in-compound, but never-deployed). The some-45 FBI agents on scene who could have been summoned for testimony or their notes entered into evidence. And the several cameras and listening devices covertly operated at the Bundy Ranch. All of whose existence or relevance the prosecution denied in court – until the evidence proved otherwise.

 

As mentioned in Cliven Bundy: American Patriot, Judge Navarro had trouble believing the prosecution’s denials of the FBI presence and roles, the cameras, or that Operation Command didn’t monitor Bundy Ranch surveillance video:

 

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, the judge said, 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 prosecution flatly denied the existence of such a camera, its deployment, or its coverage. However, Dan Love and another BLM officer testified that at least one camera was there, set up and maintained by the FBI. The FBI also had their own trailer within the compound with a live video and audio feed from the cameras and microphones that they placed around the compound. The prosecution claimed that no recordings were made, and no one was watching the defendants.

 

Clearly, the “handful” were neither refused to the defense nor omitted from the trial due to any “mistake.” Instead, as Judge Navarro astutely pointed out in her case dismissal, the government’s failure was intentional and deliberate – a cover-up to protect the prosecution’s mis-handled case … a deep misconduct pattern she experienced first-hand, as she’d had to rule during the trial that the probably-illegal actions of certain Federal Agents emerging from their own testimony forthe prosecutionwould have to be addressed separately from the Bundy’s trial.

 

Prosecutors are appealing her dismissal with the “mistake” argument in an effort to reverse her decision and bring further charges against Cliven Bundy and the other three defendants. Hopefully, the judges at the 9^thCircuit Court will see through this masquerade and turn down the appeal, thus upholding Judge Navarro’s 2018 dismissal of the case.

 

Stay tuned…

Learn more about Cliven Bundy: American Terrorist Patriot or get your book copy here.

About Michael Stickler

Mike is an author, radio host, and a highly sought after conference speaker. His best-selling book, A Journey to Generosity, is widely acclaimed throughout the Christian community. He is the publisher of Generous Living Magazine and writes for the Christian Post, 'A Generous Life' column. (MikeStickler.com)