Thread by @alexthechick

Let's have a chat about the Bundy ranchers. Here's the link to the Ninth Circuit opinion upholding the dismissal of the charges against them. These were the charges related, in part, to claims by the Bundys that their ranch was surrounded by snipers. cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opin…

I'll be screenshotting the relevant bits about the chronology because that is what I want to focus upon. Before we start, from the summary of the case for those not familiar with this case.

Here's what the government alleged.

Hearing 1:

Hearing 2 (highlighting mine obviously):

Hearing 3:

Hearing 4:

And tossing in the oh you mean this gate key portion from the opinion (again highlighting mine):

Why did I go to all that bother? A. original sources are best and II. to keep you scamps from having to read that opinion. Also to note this. It took four separate hearings, each of them involving the DOJ violating rule number one never tick off the judge for anything to happen.

Remember: part of the indictment was DOJ claiming fraud on the part of the Bundys for getting people to come to the ranch by claiming falsely that there were snipers. The DOJ referred to a request for evidence it had as a fantastical fishing expedition. The DOJ lied. Repeatedly.

There were Rule 11 violations (Rule 11 very briefly put is that lawyers cannot lie in pleadings). There were Brady violations. There was outright lying to a judge's face on multiple occasions. And it still took four separate hearings before the mistrial and then dismissal.

That case against the Bundys was not dismissed with prejudice because of any great legal matter. It was dismissed because the DOJ made the district court judge look like an idiot for believing the DOJ's claims that oh none of that exists, well it exists but no biggie, oh oops!

And what happened to the various and sundry members of the DOJ and the FBI and the BLM and all the other alphabets who were involved? Not a damn thing. Nothing. No one was disbarred. No one was fired. There were no negative consequences, at least not publicly.

If the DOJ lawyers hadn't ticked off the judge, and if the Bundys were not fortunate enough that there was a whistleblower who said yeah, all that stuff exists, then the DOJ would have gone forward with a fraud prosecution KNOWING that the statements made by the Bundys were true.

Why do I focus on the case so much? Because this is one where the DOJ was caught. How many others haven't been? How many tens of thousands of pleas were blackmailed, and I consider overcharging to coerce pleas blackmail, when the DOJ knew it was lying about the charges?

And nothing, not one single solitary negative consequence, is ever laid upon those who do this. Nothing. I consider the DOJ and the FBI to be beyond contempt. And those who defend them? Grima Wormtongue had more dignity than they do.

So spare me, just spare me, the we must wait and the noble rank and file and but a judge would never sign. Spare me. I don't live in the Eternal Now. I pay attention. And those of you who don't? Well. It must be nice to live your world. I'll stay here in reality. /fin