Ammon Bundy: Not surprised prosecutors under fire in Nevada standoff case

The Oregonian – by Maxine Bernstein

LAS VEGAS — Ammon Bundy was at times on the brink of despair behind bars but said Monday he’s now at peace as he awaits a judge’s ruling on whether the stalled federal conspiracy trial against him, his father, older brother and a friend will proceed.

The 42-year-old has been staying at a relative’s home in Las Vegas, supervised with GPS monitoring and a curfew, after spending a year and 10 months in custody following his arrest in Oregon.  

Outside the downtown courthouse, wearing a cowboy hat, brown plaid shirt and a black Carhartt vest, he said he was buoyed by a new memo from a U.S. Bureau of Land Management whistleblower that alleged misdeeds by federal agents during the investigation of the 2014 armed standoff outside his father’s ranch near Bunkerville.

Agent Larry Wooten sent the Nov. 27 memo to the U.S. Department of Justice, citing serious concerns about the “heavy-handedness” of Dan Love, the BLM agent who led the round-up Cliven Bundy’s cattle after the family patriarch failed to pay grazing fees and fines for two decades. Wooten alleged Love and other agency supervisors withheld evidence, abused their power and actively ridiculed the Bundys, though Wooten also said Cliven Bundy and his supporters “chose an illegal, uncivilized and dangerous strategy” to express their grievances.

Ammon Bundy said the government made a mistake by locking up his family for so long because it gave them a lot of uninterrupted time to pore over evidence and learn about the law. Ammon and Ryan Bundy were arrested in January 2016 during their armed occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge in southeastern Oregon and their father was arrested the following month when he arrived at Portland International Airport to visit them in jail.

“We’ve been locked away for the last two years with discovery that’s been sealed. We’ve done our due diligence going through every file, trying to understand every video, trying to understand every body cam, every dash cam,” Bundy said. “We have understood that this has been going on, but we haven’t been able to tell the public. So the fact that it has come out doesn’t surprise us at all.”

He said it may be easier for the public to accept Wooten’s claims about alleged federal misconduct because they’re coming from someone within the Bureau of Land Management.

He said he expects U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro to dismiss the federal conspiracy care, or that he and the others will win acquittal if the trial continues. Navarro last week raised the prospect of a mistrial, striking certain witness testimony or delaying the trial if she found prosecutors violated their obligation to turn over evidence beneficial to the defense.

Ammon Bundy, father Cliven Bundy, older brother Ryan Bundy and Ryan Payne face conspiracy, threat, assault and extortion charges, accused of rallying militia and armed supporters to thwart a court-ordered roundup of Bundy cattle trespassing on public land. Outnumbered federal agents and rangers retreated and the Bundys were indicted a year and a half later.

The judge is expected to rule by Wednesday whether the case will continue in light of at least seven potential evidence violations she cited by the prosecution, and the surfacing of the whistleblower memo submitted to the defense on Dec. 8. Only three prosecution witnesses have been called since opening statements Nov. 14.

Ammon Bundy said his time in jail affected his wife, six children, his business and finances. He  still owes about $180,000 in legal fees from his trial in Portland in the refuge takeover, which ended in acquittals for him, Ryan Bundy and five other defendants in fall 2016, according to court testimony.

He said his vehicle fleet business, which provides repair and maintenance services, has been curtailed and he wasn’t allowed any contact visits with his wife and children until his release last month.

At times, with decades of potential prison time hanging over his head if convicted in Nevada, Bundy said he wondered if he’d ever get to spend time with his family again.

“The impact has been great and terrible — terribly great because we have grown tremendously from this,” he said. “I look back at the pain and suffering we have gone through, and I almost cringe today just thinking about it.

“But as long as we don’t get bitter, as long as we don’t get hard, we’ll be able to survive and be better at the end. Even with the financial situation of my business and all of that being attacked, we’ll be fine. … We’ll make it.”

He said he’s believed he and his family would prevail since he experienced a spiritual awakening while in custody in Portland. He also got through his jail time by looking forward to telling his family’s story at trial in Nevada.

“I came to understand this case was going to be an instrument in bringing forth truth and exposing corruption of what the government is doing to not only us and not only to the agricultural community but people in general,” he said.

He said he’s gained strength and his wife and children have grown closer to God and “more determined to stand for what is right.”

“I’m not so tender, if you will. I’ve run out of tears,” he said. “But I don’t feel like I’m hardened. … I’m not bitter at the Bureau of Land Management. I’m not bitter at the prosecutors or the judge because I know that the light will be brought forth.”

But he said the public should be outraged about the government’s delay in sharing evidence – including information about a live-feed FBI camera on a hill overlooking the Bundy ranch, a log tracking who was watching the camera and armed federal agents on watch outside the ranch — and the whistleblower’s allegations.

Prosecutors have been “digging a hole for us,” but are going to be buried in it themselves, he said.

Prosecutors have argued that some of the information the defense requested is immaterial to the case, that they were not aware of some of the defense theories or that a document sought wasn’t discovered because it wasn’t in the usual investigative file but kept in one person’s file. Prosecutors also have argued in court earlier that the defense requests for additional evidence marked a “tactic for delay.”

Since his Nov. 30 release, Ammon Bundy said he’s trying to make up for lost time. The moment he hugged his wife and children was indescribable, he said. He devoured a “good steak” at a barbeque on his second day out after losing about 40 pounds in custody.

He said he considered remaining behind as his father has chosen to do despite the judge’s release order, but realized he could do more good outside of jail.

Still, he said, “We’re not in any way free,” pulling up his right pant leg to show the electronic monitoring anklet he has tucked inside his sock.

Asked if he’d lead similar armed standoffs if a mistrial or a dismissal is declared, “I hope that is not necessary.”

— Maxine Bernstein

http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2017/12/ammon_bundy_awaits_judges_ruli.html