The Bureau of Land Management’s (BLM) lead investigator into the
failed Bundy Ranch operation that took place April of 2014 has blown the
whistle in an effort to expose far-reaching misconduct, recklessness,
corruption and unrestrained persecutory behavior toward the Bundy
family.
The Bundys and other defendants are currently on trial for conspiring
to stop federal authorities from confiscating family cattle after
Cliven Bundy failed to pay grazing fees and fines for years. They’re
also facing charges relating to using or carrying a firearm in a crime
of violence, threatening a federal law enforcement officer, obstruction
of justice and extortion. Their trial began Nov. 14 in Las Vegas.
The incident saw hundreds of armed militiamen, and others, show up to
defend the Bundy ranch after armed BLM sniper teams took up positions
around the Bundy ranch property.
A
damning memo from lead investigator Larry Wooten reveals borderline criminal operation carried out by the BLM.
According to a report by
The Oregonian:
The memo comes from Larry Wooten, who had been the lead
case agent and investigator for the U.S. Bureau of Land Management after
the tense confrontation outside the patriarch’s ranch near Bunkerville.
Wooten also testified before a federal grand jury that returned
indictments against the Bundys. He said he was removed from the
investigation last February after he complained to the U.S. Attorney’s
Office in Nevada…
Then last Wooten sent a whistleblower email to the U.S. Department of
Justice, alleging a “widespread pattern of bad judgment, lack of
discipline, incredible bias, unprofessionalism and misconduct, as well
as likely policy, ethical and legal violations among senior and
supervisory staff” at the Bureau of Land Management’s Office of Law
Enforcement and Security.
Wooten wrote that supervisory agents with the bureau repeatedly
mocked the defendants in an “amateurish carnival atmosphere” that
resembled something out of middle school, displayed “clear prejudice”
against the Bundys, their supporters and Mormons, and prominently
displayed degrading altered booking photos of Cliven Bundy and other
defendants in a federal office and in an office presentation.
The memo described “heavy handedness” by government officers as they
prepared to impound Cliven Bundy’s cattle. He said some officers
“bragged about roughing up Dave Bundy, grinding his face into the ground
and Dave Bundy having little bits of gravel stuck in his face.” Dave
Bundy, one of Cliven Bundy’s sons, was arrested April 6, 2014, while
videotaping men he suspected were federal agents near his father’s
ranch.
Wooten contends that supervisory agents failed to turn over required
discovery evidence to the prosecution team that could help the defense
or be used to question the credibility of a witness, as required by law.
The revelations contained in the memo prompted Cliven Bundy’s
attorney to file a motion to dismiss the case, which is already in
shambles over the government’s failure to share evidence with the
defense as required by law.
The judge subsequently sent the jury home for more than a week in an
effort to determine the validity of the claims, as the prosecution
scrambled to save their case against the Bundy ranch defendants.
Additionally, lead agents on the case “instigated” monitoring of jail
phone calls without the consent of the U.S. Attorney’s Office or the
FBI – essentially going rogue – until Nevada’s acting U.S. attorney
Steven Myhre, who is leading the prosecution, put an end to the illicit
surveillance.
The memo by Wooten accused special agent-in-charge of the Bunkerville/Gold Butte operation for the BLM, Dan Love, of
intentionally ignoring U.S. Attorney’s Office directives and his BLM superiors “in order to command the most intrusive, oppressive, large-scale and militaristic trespass cattle impound possible.”
The Oregonian reported that:
Wooten said he learned from other agency supervisors that
Love had a “Kill Book” as a “trophy,” in which he essentially bragged
about “getting three individuals in Utah to commit suicide,” following a
joint FBI-BLM investigation into the alleged trafficking of stolen
artifacts.
Wooten said his supervisor took photos in a secure command post at
FBI headquarters in Las Vegas of an “Arrest Tracking Wall,” where photos
of Cliven Bundy and co-defendant Eric Parker were marked with an “X”
over them, and emailed out the photos, although no photos were allowed
to be taken in that area.
After the discovery of the extreme corruption, Wooten called
prosecutors in the Bundy case and told Myhre and Assistant U.S. Attorney
Nadia Ahmed, as well as FBI special agent Joel Willis, that he believed
that supervisors were failing to share important witness statements
with them.
When Wooten eventually asked Myhre if statements made by Love, such
as “Go out there and kick Cliven Bundy in the mouth (or teeth) and take
his cattle” or “I need you to get the troops fired up to go get those
cows and not take any crap from anyone” could be construed as evidence
that must be shared with the defense.
He said that Myhre replied by saying “we do now” or “it is now.”
Only two days later Wooten was removed from the investigation by his
supervisor. Another BLM agent confiscated files relating to his
investigation from his office; including computer hard drives, collected
emails, text messages, case notes and “lessons learned,” Wooten wrote.
“These items were taken because they contained significant
evidence of misconduct and items that would potentially embarrass BLM
Law Enforcement Supervision,” Wooten’s memo noted.
“I am convinced that I was removed to prevent the ethical and proper further disclosure of the severe misconduct.”
According to Wooten, he was told by his supervisor that Myhre
“furiously demanded” his removal from the case – and said something
regarding the BLM’s failure to hand over critical evidence to his
office.
Myhre
“adopted an attitude of ‘don’t ask, don’t tell” or
“preferred ignorance” in regards to information from the BLM that could be helpful to the Bundy defense, according to Wooten.
Additionally, he noted the extremely inaccurate talking points used
by prosecutors, particularly failing to disclose the fact that BLM
sniper teams took up positions around the Bundy Ranch before
the standoff on April 12, 2014.
READ MORE: County Commissioner Says Bundy Supporters “Better Have Funeral Plans”
“Not only did Mr. Myhre in my opinion not want to know or seek
out evidence favorable to the accused, he and my supervisor discouraged
the reporting of such issues,” Wooten wrote.
Wooten claims he respected Myhre, but believes his decision-making
ability is “clouded” by personal bias and a “desire to win the case at
all costs.”
“I have tried to resolve these issues through my chain of command but I have failed,” Wooten wrote in the memo.
He noted that he believed it to be “his obligation” to report what he had discovered, noting that the memo was a “last resort.”
The trial has been postponed until next Wednesday, as U.S. District
Judge Gloria M. Navarro attempts to reconcile numerous concerns about
evidence not being shared with the defense. She intimated that if
violations are found, potential remedies range from striking witness
testimony or delaying the trial, to declaring a mistrial.
Cliven Bundy’s lawyer Bret O. Whipple described the information
contained in the memo as “quite a development” one he hadn’t seen in his
20-plus years of legal work.
“In my mind, I think the case should be dismissed by next Tuesday,” Whipple said
. “I think I can get my client home for Christmas.”
The reality is the prosecution has withheld evidence that would have
easily exonerated the 19 defendants but instead, exculpatory evidence
was withheld from the defense, which has resulted in the 19 defendants
spending the last 2 years behind bars.
Please share this damning information to expose the extreme corruption that has taken place in the Bundy case!
Copyright Information: This article was reprinted with permission from
Thefreethoughtsproject.com.
