VINDICATION: Bundys Walk Free!
From the print edition of The New American
“The government’s conduct in this case was indeed outrageous…. There has been flagrant misconduct, substantial prejudice and no lesser remedy is sufficient.” So declared U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro on January 8 in her stunning ruling that dismissed “with prejudice” all charges against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy (shown, wearing hat) and his sons Ammon and Ryan. “With prejudice” was the key phrase hoped for and prayed for by the Bundy family and their many supporters, since it would mean that federal prosecutors could not come back again for yet another long, drawn-out, costly trial. Cliven Bundy had already been incarcerated for 700 days by the time of his January 8 release. The 71-year-old rancher, his two sons, and 14 other defendants were jailed on charges related to the standoff with federal agents at their ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada, in April of 2014. The felony charges they faced, including conspiracy, assault, extortion, threats against the government, obstruction of justice, and firearms offenses, could have resulted in decades of prison time. For Cliven Bundy, conviction would have been, almost certainly, a sentence to serve the remainder of his life in prison.
Judge Navarro had already declared a mistrial in the case on December 20. She did so after reviewing sealed evidence of misconduct by federal prosecutors and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and serious criminal activity by agents of the federal Bureau of Land Management (BLM). However, in declaring a mistrial, she had left open the opportunity for prosecutors to come back for another run at the Bundys and their co-defendant Ryan Payne, which prosecutors had indicated they would do. Her January 8 ruling not only relieved the defendants and their families from the fear of ongoing prosecution, but also severely rebuked the federal prosecutors and federal agencies in language that is rarely heard from the bench.
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