U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro has declared a mistrial in the high-profile case against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. Multiple reports say Navarro faulted the prosecution for not turning over evidence to the defense. But the trail came under increased scrutiny after a scathing report came to light recently about the government’s handling of the case.
Despite this ruling, there are many and varied issues that have come to the foreground as a result of the Bundy case and the ensuing armed stand off at Bunkerville. And so we bring you the following exclusive interview below:
Editor’s note: The following is an excerpt of a conversation between LN Contributor Lorraine Silvetz on renowned attorney Larry Klayman on the federal government’s prosecution of Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy. Edited for readability, it essentially remains as it was told to Ms. Silvetz. This is the first in a series of articles publishing Mr. Klayman's revelations on government overreach, and in defense of liberty.
By way of background, Mr. Klayman is the founder of Judicial Watch and Freedom Watch. Klayman, well known for his strong public interest advocacy in furtherance of ethics in government, pioneered the use of the Freedom of Information Act to force government disclosures of inconvenient truths. During his tenure at Judicial Watch, he obtained a court ruling that Bill Clinton committed a crime, the first lawyer ever to have done so against an American president. Klayman is feisty, combative and above all a straight shooter.
Mr. Klayman: The Bundy case, I believe, and the prosecutors out there in Nevada, who are Obama holdovers, acting US Attorney Steven Myhre, have just perverted justice, because they withheld exculpatory information to the defendants, Clive and his sons, the other defendants. And they have just run roughshod over their constitutional rights.
This is exactly what happened in the days leading up to the revolution. King George breaks into your house, steals your property, beats your family up, sometimes even raping your women. And it's a primary reason why we fought the revolution and won. So, I saw this as modern day American revolution. And the government wants to crush Bundy and everyone around him, because they want to tell the American people never, ever question what we do. Never, ever use your 2nd Amendment rights, or your 1st Amendment rights. You have no right to stand up to us.
I'm about ready to file a lawsuit in Nevada that the land does not belong to the United States. It belongs to Nevada. There's a very strong legal argument. The federal government claims 85% of the land ownership in Nevada. How can you be state if the federal government owns 85%?
It's a fascinating story. Everything that's wrong with this country, and good about this country, is in this case. The Bureau of Land Management moved in years ago. By the way, [Senator Harry] Reid put his hand-picked chief of staff as head of the Bureau of Land Management.
They said, "We're going to manage the land, and we're going to charge you grazing fees. And we're going to enforce these so-called environmental regulations, with regard to the desert tortoise and other regulations." Cliven stopped paying the grazing fees because he says, he told Bureau of Land Management, BLM, that, "I don't need you to manage the land. I'll do it. Why should I pay you grazing fees to put me out of business? Because of your restrictions on where my cattle can graze, there's very little food to eat on this area."
It's arid desert, at Bunkerville, in and around Lake Meade. They had already driven hundreds of ranchers out of business with the BLM administering to the land, and enforcing these environmental regulations. It got to the point where the government was telling the ranchers what bush the cattle could eat at, because if they went into other areas they might harm the desert tortoise. Well, the desert tortoise actually eats cow manure. It actually likes the cattle.
So Cliven said, "Why should I pay you to put me out of business? I'm the last standing rancher here. I ranch on three to four hundred thousand acres in and around Lake Meade." He had 500 head of cattle. He didn't pay them, but he actually sent checks to the state of Nevada, saying, "If you own the land, I'll pay you." But they sent them back. But Nevada actually owns the land. The federal government only for a short period held the land in trust for the state. When Nevada became a state, the land transferred to the state. But no one in the state has ever had the guts to stand up to the federal government, these politicians. So, I'm filing declaratory judgment action, to get a state judge to rule that Nevada owns the land. We'll see. It'll probably wind up at the Supreme Court.
Klayman
Cliven believed that when BLM sent their goons in to take his cattle and threaten his family, threaten to kill them if they wouldn't leave, that's what this whistleblower confirms - that they actually had this animus towards Mormons and others. He stood up to that. He said, "No, I'm not going to roll over." People came, peaceful protest. And ultimately, the government was forced to leave.
So, two years later, everybody's indicted here, then there was a protest in Oregon. Cliven's sons were acquitted there. They go before a judge and she throws Cliven in solitary confinement. Doesn't grant anybody bail. 19 defendants. Cliven and his sons were imprisoned for going on two years, until recently.
And when the government's case started to fall apart, with their lying and hiding of evidence, she eventually offered let them out under house arrest. And Cliven said, "No. It's a matter of principle. I don't want to come out until I'm totally free, and there are other defendants in here." But the sons are now out. One of them, Ryan is defending himself. He can move around during the day, but he's got to go back at night. The others are under house arrest. They've already paid the price. Two years in prison, and they haven't been proven to have done anything illegal.
So, by the grace of God, this has all come out, and this case is collapsing.
This is the trial of the century, and it's not been reported. And the reason it's not been reported is that everybody ran away from Cliven when he used the word Negro, including Fox. Hannity was covering it. Senator Rand Paul and others were very supportive. He used an inarticulate phrase. And it shows you where we are today. If you're called a racist, everybody runs away.
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