DOJ misconduct in Nevada in Bundy case

The Bundy family was the group at the center of a tense standoff in Nevada in 2014. The nation was glued to TV sets as federal agents squared off against the family and their allies. A recent ruling by a federal judge, based on the shocking report released by Bureau of Land Management whistleblower Larry Wooten, has thrust the Bundy family back into the headlines.

Much of the problem for Bundy began with the listing of the desert tortoise as an endangered species in 1989 and the federal government’s subsequent efforts to protect it by restricting cattle grazing near Bundy’s ranch. But the evidence showing that cattle are detrimental to the desert tortoise is weak, as even the federal government has admitted.

In 1994, [the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service] acknowledged in its Desert Tortoise Recovery Plan that the “extremely controversial” question of whether cattle harmed tortoise populations was not settled.

In 2002, the U.S. Geological Survey said in a report that the evidence for the harm done by cattle was “not overwhelming.” William Boarman, the biologist who wrote the report, said he was not aware of subsequent studies showing a strong link.

Cattle may even be beneficial to the tortoise. As hard as it might be to believe, the desert tortoise was abundant decades ago when the cattle population was much higher, and the range was overgrazed. But as Bureau of Land Management (BLM) restrictions on cattle grazing grew stricter, the desert tortoise population declined.

The evidence that cattle are detrimental to the desert tortoise was so weak that two judges ruled in favor of Bundy’s neighbors who sued to stop the BLM’s efforts to drive their cattle off the range. But the BLM under the Clinton Administration would not be deterred; the agency tightened regulations on the ranchers and ultimately succeeded in removing their cattle from the range. Incredibly, while the federal government continues to try to remove the relatively few remaining cattle from Clark County, it continues to protect the common raven—which is not at all endangered—even though it regularly devours young tortoises.

Although many have tried to portray Bundy as a villain or a deadbeat, he seems more like a regular guy who’s standing up for his family and the only way of life he’s ever known. Bundy is a 71-year-old, God-fearing grandfather. For most of his life, he has lived in a modest two-bedroom home that he helped his father build. He pays his taxes, and he had no history of violence.

The federal government would finally stand down and end the contentious situation. However, the feds would not forget what happened.

Bundy was arrested in Portland, Oregon on February 10, 2016 as he was attempting to visit another protest site. Bundy would be charged with a litany of charges including conspiracy to commit an offense against the United States, assault on a federal officer by use of a deadly weapon and aiding and abetting, and interfering with commerce by extortion and aiding, just to name a few. Everything seemed to be wrapped up until a whistleblower came forward.

BLM Special Agent Larry Wooten conducted an investigation into the handling of the 2014 Nevada standoff by the BLM. Wooten’s 18-page report is a damning indictment of the federal government. Wooten’s report lists dozens of violations of procedures, acts of bias, and blatant Brady Act violations, failing to turn over exculpatory evidence. Wooten stated the operation conducted against the Bundy family was, “the most intrusive, oppressive, large scale and militaristic trespass cattle impound possible.” The operation was conducted like a military mission despite the FBI’s threat assessment team declaring the Bundy family non-violent.

The conduct of the BLM and U.S. Attorney was so dishonest, U.S. District Court Judge Gloria Navarro, an Obama appointee, declared a mistrial. The judge stating, “the failure is prejudicial,” to ensuring a fair trial. Navarro set a retrial for late February, but it is uncertain if the feds will attempt to pursue the case further.

Americans for Limited Government Rick Manning stated, “the judge threw out the case because the prosecution engaged in multiple examples of prosecutorial misconduct. The extraordinary links the federal government went through to destroy the lives of the Bundy family is a cautionary tale about an out of control avaricious federal government. The charges against the Bundy’s need to be dropped. Once more, every legal action should be taken against the federal government employees who abused their power in this case to ensure that others will think twice before destroying citizens lives in a witch-hunt.”

This is an all too familiar pattern of federal government misconduct. It seems not one week goes by without a story about federal prosecutors not turning over Brady material. Attorney General Jeff Sessions must hold officials accountable. He inherited a corrupt DOJ that apparently has never heard of the Constitution. Prosecutors involved in malicious prosecutions, like this one, must be made to pay the lawyer fees of the defense and should be disbarred.

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Those caring, compassionate Leftists again

Ajit Pai, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), was reportedly forced to cancel an upcoming appearance at a highly anticipated technology conference after receiving multiple death threats.

Due to the intense debate surrounding internet regulations imposed under the Obama administration’s FCC in 2015, which were couched as a vague principle called “net neutrality,” Pai and the FCC have been engulfed in a stormy situation in the past year.

Recently, Pai was forced to cut his speech on why he thinks repealing net neutrality rules is a good thing for consumers and the country because of a bomb threat at agency headquarters. The ostensible danger was not surprising since people across the internet were constantly unleashing extremely vile and even racist attacks against Pai, including through methods directed at his children outside of his own home. (RELATED: Net Neutrality Activists Tied To Violent Groups, Convicted Al-Qaida Terrorist)

Now, Pai and his office, according to Recode, apparently feel he should abandon his plans to attend CES, the international Consumer Electronics Show, due to violent threats.

Initially, people and publications across Twitter interpreted his lack of attendance as an act of cowardice.

Celebrities and journalists have also been feverishly outspoken in support of one side of the debate for quite some time.

“Everything Ajit Pai Has Fucked Up in the Last Three Months,” reads a critical headline from Gizmodo, for example.

“White House Endorses FCC Chair Ajit Pai’s Quest To Murder Net Neutrality,” reads another.

Death threats haven’t been directed at just Pai. Federal authorities are charging a net neutrality supporter for threatening to kill Republican Rep. John Katko and do harm to his family. (RELATED: The FCC Repeals Internet Regulations After Months Of Wild Protests)

Brian Hart, director of the office of media relations at the FCC, told The Daily Caller News Foundation that they “cannot comment on security measures or concerns.”

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Leftists Beclown Themselves on Iran

They are "justifying and excusing Islamic fascism in a broader and confused attempt at signaling tolerance."

As we noted yesterday, protests in Iran continue as citizens rise up to object to tyranny and corruption in the Iranian regime. Donald Trump and his administration — particularly UN Ambassador Nikki Haley — have clearly stood with the Iranian people in support of Liberty. Meanwhile, American leftists provide quite the teachable moment.

In fact, David Harsanyi nailed it, writing, “The Iranian people are in the midst of their largest protests since the 2009 Green movement, and many on the Left don’t seem especially thrilled about the prospects of a free Iran. The muted reaction is partly due to a troubling trend of justifying and excusing Islamic fascism in a broader and confused attempt at signaling tolerance. But almost surely an even more powerful factor is the need to protect Barack Obama’s legacy and criticize Donald Trump.”

A few examples: The New York Times, in a story that included coverage of the death of 12 protesters at the hands of Iranian government forces, blamed … the protesters. “Iranian authorities have clamped down on Tehran after demonstrators across the country ignored calls for calm,” the paper of record tweeted. Imagine a similar framing of anti-Trump rallies last year had the result been a dozen deaths at the hands of police. That’s right — a similar framing is unimaginable.

Speaking of anti-Trump protesters, the Women’s March, famous for running around the DC Mall wearing vagina hats, has been utterly silent about the Iranian protests, in which The Washington Times notes “women have become symbolic leaders.” American feminists fancy themselves the oppressed subjects of the dystopian TV series “The Handmaid’s Tale,” but when they have a chance to stand up for actually oppressed women around the world, their silence is deafening.

Finally, both The New York Times and Newsweek scolded Trump over his statements about Iran blocking social media sites. When Trump condemned the Iranian government’s crackdown, Times White House correspondent Maggie Haberman responded by tweeting, “The president often blocks individual people from seeing the @realDonaldTrump Twitter feed.” Newsweek made the supposed contrast even more clear, tweeting, “Trump bars Americans on Twitter but tells Iran to unblock social media sites.” As if the comparison is even remotely relevant. Hateful leftist Twitter trolls being blocked is not the same thing as shutting down access to Twitter. Oh, and by the way, nearly the entire American mainstream media apparatus is freely opposed to Trump. That’s a contrast from the state-run propaganda in Iran.

But by all means, leftists will continue to ignore protests for Liberty in Iran all while circling the wagons to defend Obama’s horrible nuclear deal.

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GOP Rep Hurd: Trump ‘Tactics’ Are Producing ‘Successful’ Results on North Korea

Thursday on Fox News Channel’s “Fox & Friends,” Rep. Will Hurd (R-TX) said President Donald Trump’s tactics towards North Korea have “been successful.”

Hurd said, “Here’s one of the things I have learned as an undercover officer in the CIA, I was one of the guys in the back alley 4:00 in the morning, be nice with nice guys and tough with tough guys. We have to look at what is actually happening. The fact that North Korea picked up the phone and called South Korea to start a dialogue, that’s a big deal. That’s a good thing in order to resolve this escalation of tension with diplomacy.”

He added, “The fact that the North Koreans are talking about joining the Olympics and participating in the Olympics is a big deal. The fact that we have China working with us on sanctions against North Korea, a year ago nobody thought that was possible. So, you may not like the tactics, but the actions and what those tactics are producing, we got to say it’s been successful.”

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