Free Republic

U.S. District Judge Gloria Navarro ruled Monday the case against Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy would be dismissed “with prejudice” and ordered the rancher set free after federal prosecutors willfully withheld exculpatory evidence during the 2017 trial. Navarro ruled a mistrial in the Bundy case last month after prosecutors “willful(ly)” withheld exculpatory evidence favorable to the four men on trial: Cliven Bundy, his two sons and one other person. The judge found that prosecutors had violated the defendant’s civil rights and violated federal law by hiding evidence from the court.

Advocates of universal basic income believe that the unconditional offer of a regular, though tiny, sum of money could help many get back on their feet, and even encourage them to invest in new business ideas. However, people from both sides of the political aisle have engaged with the proposal, which would cost money upfront but could deliver important savings by replacing unemployment benefits...

Last week, the judge overseeing the trial of Cliven Bundy, his sons Ammon and Ryan, and a militia leader named Ryan Payne unexpectedly sent the jury home. She had already called a hearing and released the defendants, who up until then had spent almost two years in pretrial detention. Now she called for a sealed hearing to discuss a growing file of previously undisclosed evidence.This trial focuses on the four so-called “most culpable” leaders of the standoff between federal agents and militias and Bundy loyalists at the family’s Nevada ranch in 2014. It is the latest in a series of trials covering the...

The Bundy Ranch Protest leaders are now on trial in Las Vegas, Nevada.  It has been another busy week for the lawyers.  Judge Navarro excused the jurors from December 11th –  20th because more time was needed to deal with motions by the defense concerning the failure of the prosecution to hand over exculpatory evidence.  Because of this failure, the prosecution has committed at least seven Brady or Giglio violations. These are Fifth Amendment, Due Process violations. The defense team has filed several motions for a dismissal of the case as a remedy.       Late Sunday night and early...

As we noted here previously, there were a few people in the media cautiously suggesting that while the #MeToo movement was sweeping away alleged sexual offenders in Congress this year, it might be an opportune time for the Democrats to relieve themselves of the embarrassment of having Bob Menendez hanging around. The New Jersey Democrat narrowly dodged a bullet when his corruption case ended in a mistrial, but that far from exonerated him. So if pressure from colleagues was enough to show Al Franken the door (assuming he actually leaves), might the same tactic work with Menendez? And more to...

Prosecutors have asked the judge in the Bundy case to limit defense theories, and not allow Cliven Bundy, his two sons and Ryan Payne to claim federal officers provoked their armed standoff over the roundup of Bundy cattle, or that they were entrapped or acted in self-defense in April 2014. In a motion filed late Monday, Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre argues that the defendants are relying on "theories of defenses that are not legally cognizable.'' The motion to restrict the defense theories comes as the trial is stalled, and the judge is considering whether the government violated its obligation...

Includes an oral recitation of Nevadan Ryan Bundy's amazingly written and powerful Opening Statement in his trial.

Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag says Washington has told Ankara that jailed Turkish-Iranian businessman Reza Zarrab -- a gold trader who is awaiting trial in the United States on charges of evading U.S. sanctions against Iran -- is in good medical condition. Bozdag made the remarks on November 16, a day after Turkey announced it had sent a diplomatic note to U.S. authorities inquiring about Zarrab. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons website last week listed Zarrab, 34, as having been released from prison on November 8. But U.S. prosecutors said that posting was an error and he remained...

Today the jurors in the corruption trial of Senator Bob Menendez (D – NJ) will go back to work on orders of the judge, seeking to break what appears to be heading for a deadlock. Of course, if you don’t read conservative blogs or watch Fox News, you probably didn’t know that. There’s been a vacuum in terms of coverage on the major networks and most of cable news. One glaring example of this is MSNBC host Lawrence O’Donnell, who freely admits that he hasn’t mentioned the trial once since it began.Why is that? He was actually asked about it...

Ammon Bundy will have one more chance to argue for his release on Monday. The third Bunkerville Standoff Trail in Las Vegas has been delayed for several motions to be resolved before opening arguments.Thursday saw a pre-trial detention release hearing for the four defendants, Cliven Bundy, his two sons Ryan and Ammon, as well as defendant Ryan Payne.Bret Whipple, attorney for Cliven Bundy, argued for release of his client citing his age and failing health. The elder Bundy has noticeably weakened since his incarceration nearly two years ago.Whipple told the court of Bundy’s dental problems, noting that the 71-year-old has...

The Bunkerville Standoff Trial-Of-The-Century began with a bang this weekend, even before jury selection got underway Monday morning.A motion filed on behalf of defendant Ryan Payne this weekend addressed the prosecution’s requested extension to respond to Payne’s sealed motion.Specifically, Ryan Payne filed a motion to dismiss the case based on a report from the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and it’s attachments. The court had ordered the prosecution to turn over the report’s attachments to the defense. There are hundreds of pages of attachments to the report, which concerns SAC Dan Love, the incident commander of the 2014 cattle...

LAS VEGAS - The federal trial against Nevada cattleman Cliven Bundy, his two sons, Ammon Bundy and Ryan Bundy, and Ryan Payne began Monday with prosecutors and defense lawyers questioning potential jurors about their beliefs on guns, protests, the government, ranching and the impact of the Oct. 1 mass shooting on the city's famous strip. Ryan Bundy, representing himself, had his leg shackles removed and then posed his own questions from a podium before a group of nearly 50 potential jurors. "I am a true Nevadan. I was born on Nevada Day," he said, referencing Halloween -- the day Nevada...

Michael Rubin stated that the arrest warrant issued for former minister Zafer Çağlayan could be a sign that Zarrab is talking to prosecutors and giving evidence. Michael Rubin, academic and former staff advisor for Iran and Iraq at the Pentagon, spoke to ANF English service on the inclusion of one of Erdoğan’s former ministers, Zafer Çağlayan, in the case file of Reza Zarrab, its influence on Zarrab’s case and Washington-Ankara relations, and Erdoğan’s planned visit to the U.S. in mid-September. Rubin remarked that the arrest warrant issued for Zafer Çağlayan could be a sign that Zarrab is talking to prosecutors...

Former Health and Human Services Administrator Kathleen Sebelius testified Tuesday in Democratic Sen. Robert Menendez’s federal corruption trial, saying she felt at one point he wanted her to “take some action.” Prosecutors allege Menendez used his political power to lobby Sebelius and others on behalf of a Florida eye doctor who overcharged Medicaid by nearly $9 million, reports Politico. In exchange for Menendez’s efforts to save the doctor from “punishment,” prosecutors charge the doctor lavished him with massive political donations and extravagant trips. The trial focused Tuesday on whether Menendez did take a bribe from the doctor, Solomon Melgen, who...

Freedom of the Press has been a driving issue in the Bunkerville Standoff trials happening in Las Vegas.From the ‘First Amendment Zone’ to the incarceration of a media reporter, the government has made every attempt to keep the truth from the public.Pete Santilli has been an independent internet journalist for a number of years, reporting on government over reach and wasteful spending.Santilli was the only full-time news media that attended the Bunkerville Standoff. There were other news reporters, but not before most of them watched Pete’s reports on his YouTube channel.The government has repeatedly shown contempt for the US Constitution...

**SNIP** More broadly, it has inserted a level of rhetorical uncertainty into one of the core principles defining the responsibilities of members of Congress: whether they serve on behalf of the people from their home state, or whether, once elected, they represent much broader interests. The prosecution, citing Black’s Law Dictionary, argued in a brief filed on Tuesday that “the straightforward answer is that Senator Menendez’s constituents are the New Jerseyans that he was elected to represent in the United States Senate.” But the defense, in a brief that was also filed Tuesday, claimed that the term was significantly amorphous...

Former Democratic congressman Anthony Weiner asked for leniency Wednesday in sentencing for his exchange of sexually explicit online messages with a 15-year-old girl, regretting he helped torpedo his wife Huma Abedin's career. In documents filed with a Manhattan federal court, Weiner's lawyers asked for probation mandating treatment and community service, portraying their client as an attention-driven "weak man" in a "self-destructive spiral" with a "sickness." The New York Times reports: The teenage girl first contacted Mr. Weiner on Jan. 23, 2016, and he "responded as a weak man, at the bottom of a self-destructive spiral, and with an addict’s self-serving...

Michael Rubin, academic and former staff advisor for Iran and Iraq at the Pentagon, spoke to ANF English service on the inclusion of one of Erdoğan’s former ministers, Zafer Çağlayan, in the case file of Reza Zarrab, its influence on Zarrab’s case and Washington-Ankara relations, and Erdoğan’s planned visit to the U.S. in mid-September. Rubin remarked that the arrest warrant issued for Zafer Çağlayan could be a sign that Zarrab is talking to prosecutors and giving evidence. He said: “That's Erdogan's nightmare, because if Zarrab is talking, then Zarrab is also likely talking about Erdogan's dealings. And the thing with...

Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez of New Jersey and his wealthy donor Salomon Melgen engaged in "a corrupt pact spanning seven years," federal prosecutors allege. It was a "bribery scheme," in which Menendez got campaign contributions, chartered flights, luxury accommodations, and more. In return, the senator allegedly took "official action advancing the South Florida eye doctor's personal whims and business interests." Menendez denies all these accusations, and in his defense he will argue that the hundreds of thousands in contributions and the millions worth of gifts he received, combined with the millions in taxpayer cash he tried to get for Melgen,...

A deputy district attorney was the victim of a gruesome gang attack in Orange County, Calif., in an apparent attempt to prevent her from giving closing arguments in a gang murder trial. The woman, whose name has been withheld, stumbled -- bloody and bruised -- into the Newport Workout gym in Newport Beach early Thursday morning, Fox 11 Los Angeles reported. A trainer inside the gym came to her aid.(snip) "I heard things coming out of her mouth like, 'Was I raped?,' 'I was unconscious. I don't know how long,' 'Are they here?,' 'Are they coming?' Still a little scatterbrained,"...