Are the Feds Retaliating Against Legislator Letter?
By Shari Dovale
The Bunkerville Standoff trial has taken several new turns. Seven defendants are preparing to head back to Judge Gloria Navarro’s courtroom on October 10th. There is only about 19 days remaining before jury selection begins.
Two defendants, Eric Parker and Scott Drexler will have their third trials rolled over into the Tier 1 trial of Cliven, Ammon, and Ryan Bundy, Pete Santilli and Ryan Payne.
The two attorneys for Parker and Drexler, Jesse Marchese and Todd Leventhal, showed themselves to be rock-stars in the last trial, so it is anticipated that they will have a high profile role in the upcoming proceedings. The government is certainly going to have to work for their paycheck with these two on board.
Cliven Bundy, patriarch of the Bundy Family, has just fired his attorney of record, Bret Whipple. There is no word as to whether Bundy has plans to hire another attorney, or possibly even represent himself. Whipple has requested an emergency hearing on the matter due to the fast approaching proceedings.
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Ryan Bundy is still trying to organize his team. His court-appointed standby counsel, Angela Dows, attempted to thwart him by filing a motion without his consent. It’s been said that the motion was asking to have him declared incompetent to represent himself. When that did not work out for her, she requested to withdraw from the trial. The hearing on this motion was Thursday and Ryan was not physically present.
Again, CCA (Core Civic) Prisons are continuing with their strip searches of all prisoners before and after each hearing. Ryan has reportedly had so many issues with the guards that he has filed a separate lawsuit against CCA about these strip searches. There is no word as to whether his brother, Ammon, has joined Ryan in this lawsuit
Because of the constant contention between the guards and these prisoners, Bundy did not get on the bus for the trip from Pahrump to Las Vegas for the motion hearing. He was allowed to take part through telephonic means.
Judge Navarro was reluctant to rule, and ended the day by refusing to make any ruling at all. Reports indicate that Navarro told Dows that she only had to be present in the courtroom on standby, if needed. She was not even required to sit at the same table as her client. It seems to me that this could present a prejudice to the jury from the very first day.
In related news, Todd Engel was originally scheduled to be sentenced for his participation in the Bunkerville Protests in July of this year. Engel filed to have his court appointed standby attorney removed from his case for not providing him with good counsel. The court granted that request and appointed David Fisher in his stead.
This seemed like a good move for Engel at the time, however, the two have only spoken together twice since the appointment. Engel attempts to contact his attorney on a daily basis, yet he has not been able to reach him.
The pre-sentencing reports that were done for Engel after his conviction in April recommended 230 months in prison. The report was, admittedly, in error and 3 points were removed from the calculations used for sentencing guidelines. It was corrected to recommend a range nearer to 12 years incarceration.
A majority of the Idaho Legislature recently sent a letter in support of the Idaho defendants, including Engel. Among other things, this letter requested minimum sentencing for Engel. It was delivered to the court prior to the hearing on August 31, 2017.
It was after the court, as well as Attorney General Jeff Sessions, received this letter that the probation department decided to re-run their math calculations for Engel. They have added many more points, seemingly arbitrarily. They are now recommending what is thought to be a full sentence of over 20 years incarceration.
The timing seems very suspect in this case. It would appear that there is government-sanctioned retaliation against this citizen. The elected officials from Idaho standing up for their constituents appears to have gotten ‘under the skin’ of our Federal government.
I hope this is mere coincidence, but currently, it is very hard to determine.
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The Idaho Freedom Foundation and the Nevada Policy Research Institute also sent a letter to Secretary Zinke concerning the Bunkerville case.
http://idahofreedom.org/iff-presses-zinke-help-bunkerville-standoff-trial/
Without standby counsel next to Ryan Bundy during the trial, how does this “present a prejudice to the jury”?? Ryan is a big boy…and has the Constitutional right to such dumb decisions. Come to think of it, without that conspicuous dumb, he wouldn’t be on trial or being subjected to cavity searches in the first place, would he??
It is said that a man who represents himself at trial has a fool for a client. Todd Engel perhaps is a good illustration. So he fires his stand-by counsel for “not providing him with good counsel”…when the best counsel would have been that Engel NOT serve as his own attorney?? The reasoning behind this is just ridiculous.
And speaking of ridiculous, it will be great theater to see the mighty Constitutional Scholar Cliven Bundy serve as his own counsel. OJ’s “Dream Team” would be put to shame. However, someone should suggest to Cliven, Philosopher Extraordinaire, that he might refrain any urge he develops to display his vast expertise on just about everything by pontificating about the “Negro…pickin’ cotton”.
Just sayin’…and I’ll be impressed if this gets by the censors and is published…
Keep it clean and free of personal attacks, the line above is the closest you have come so far.
Wow, have the Bundy’s insulted you personally?
Ha ! Wev’e seen em come and go Boyd. Their mother didn’t hold them when they were babies ? Ignore it and they’ll soon be gone…
The founding Fathers were smart enough to write the Constitution in words that do not require you to be a Rhodes Scholar to understand. Lawyers just try to convince everybody that they are the only folks who can understand iy
This is not good. If Sessions complimented anyone in the Obama/Soetoro admin this is trouble. Particularly in the corrupt and clearly racist Obama/Soetoro justice department.
We were there outside the courthouse Ed, when Sessions paid a call. After witnessing the gross miscarriage of justice being perpetrated by Navarro and her gang, we were, of course, shocked and mystified by his praise. We had expected him to be in high dudgeon ” What the hell are you doing to my Dept of Justice ? !” but we certainly learned a lesson. It is the “Washington Party” Ed..and the Federal Culture. For them,asserting the “Government Interest” trumps any consideration of Due process, justice, or indeed the interests of the public. Trump or no Trump, the imbedded corruption and Federal abuse will continue. We are in the same grim circumstance as our founders in the colonial era, becoming thoroughly disenchanted with the Central Govt. and certain of it’s malign intentions. Now, as then, no remedy can be expected from Mordor on the Potomac. Am I preaching revolution ? NO! not necessary! Courage on our part yes, but no armed conflict. Read the 10th Amendment..
I ran off topic in my comment above, but the suspicions of retaliation for Sen. Labrador’s letter to Sessions are well founded. I thank you Loren, for crediting us as a major threat to the Govt racketeers. So how is it that a letter from some state legislators could set off a retaliation against one of the Bundy et al accused ? For those who still think of the Federal Courts as respectable and disinterested, respectful of the rights of the accused and with justice as their creed and guidestar, come and observe, as we have, the inversion of all this in Judge Navarro’s court. With the judge and prosecutors palpably working as a team, with the defense figuratively gagged and hogtied by Navarro’s restrictions, with prospective defense witnesses threatened with indictment themselves, it is easy to credit the idea of a mafia like intimidation by the Fed Probation Department. After being defeated and humiliated by us over and over again, The Federal hacks are out for blood. They are on vendetta and will stop at nothing.
As we know, Sessions complimented the work and leadership of his prosecutors in Las Vegas. He has not retracted that. Therefore, the feds, including the LV prosecutors, have a blank check to do as they please, because their boss supports them. Roger Stone allegedly has clout with Trump, but so far, the only pardon we have seen is with Sheriff Arpaio. Arpaio is not even remotely a threat to the feds as are the Bundys et al who, if they ever get a chance, can raise a multitude of constitutional issues, something that Navarro has banned in the past and will continue to resist in the future.
We need to keep this story in front of the public…and Mr. Session..
Yes Cathy, we courthouse gang – that’s us pictured on the courthouse plaza – are doing everything we can. No doubt you have seen the daily updates by the redoubtable Mr Lamb and Little Andrea ( Eric’s devoted wife) Still and all, we sidewalk correspondents are put in the shade by the articulate and insightful coverage of Ms Dovale of Redoubt News. I have to say however that when you consider the Gigantic stakes we are playing for in Vegas, our “Crew” at the Federal Castle is pathetically small. WHERE ARE YOU,AMERICA ? Every update and comment we have broadcast from Vegas has been a wake up call…is it up to us ? or will we leave it to Navarro and her gang ?
What bitter people…they probably have not done an honest days work in their lives. Their whole existence revolves around machinations arriving at a superficial gloss which they will kill for and oppress if any challenge to its substance is raised; they are insane plain and simple.
And within the last three weeks a significant barrier to outright Tyranny and Treason was broached; in my posts how often have ya’ll heard me actually use those words; I do not use them lightly.
No one would suggest that Congress was ever going to vote to not raise the Federal Debt Limit…they have to to support this crazy train of deficit spending and unfunded liabilities stretching into the future…that being said at least with Congress making the effort to vote there was a connection to “We the People” via our Representatives…but with Trump’s and Schumer’s (Democrats at large) gentleman’s agreement to move to letting the Executive Department raise the Debt Limit when ever they want that connection will be gone…and a Single President, be it Trump or one following, will be unchecked and be able to finance anything…let me yell that…FINANCE ANYTHING…they want without the peoples input. That financing could include hiring 60% (+) of the population on the Federal/State payroll with pensions…goodbye Free Enterprise…hello Statism. How will the minority be able to defend their Rights when the majority is actually on the Federal/State payroll?
Poor Cliven, Ammon, Ryan, Eric, Scott, Pete, Ryan Payne and all the other Patriots…if the Executive Department gains the power to raise the Debt Limit and finance anything without Congress’s approval…there will be no check or system to stopping the worst of Statism from coming. Including calling honest capable citizens as “Incompetent”…what sycophants, they don’t even know the meaning of competency.