Three days after his arrest, Ammon Bundy offered to plead guilty to the single federal conspiracy charge he faced stemming from his takeover of the federal wildlife refuge in Harney County - as long as the government dismissed charges against others in custody and let those who remained at the refuge leave without arrests or violence, according to his lawyer.
Federal prosecutors rejected the offer.
Now Ammon Bundy's lawyer is asking the court to delay Wednesday's deadline for filing legal motions in the federal conspiracy case for 30 days to allow him to prepare his arguments fully.
If not, attorney Mike Arnold asks the court for an immediate trial for Ammon Bundy, apart from his 26 co-defendants.
"If Mr. Bundy is unable to meaningfully and fairly engage in credible and diligent pre-trial litigation and motion practice,...while the government piles terabytes of discovery data here and pursues a separate but related prosecution in Nevada, there is no purpose served whatsoever in the prolonged pre-trial incarceration of himself and his colleagues here in Oregon who all share (along with their families) its attendant hardships,'' Arnold wrote in a 24-page motion.
"Thus, if the court cannot see fit to accord the defense – even a fraction of the deference and accommodation it has shown to the government - it makes sense to try the leader first, before moving forward with the rest,'' Bundy's lawyer wrote.
Ammon Bundy, 40, was hampered in helping to prepare his defense because of his transfer to and from Nevada this month to make a court appearance there in a separate federal indictment stemming from the 2014 standoff with federal officers outside his father's ranch near Bunkerville, Nevada.
According to his lawyer, Ammon Bundy prepared lengthy notes while in custody in Nevada, which ended up being confiscated by the U.S. Marshal's office before his return flight to Oregon on Monday. He also contends Ammon Bundy was mistreated while being held in Nevada, held in solitary confinement for more than 21 hours at first and denied regular meals. His client overheard a deputy U.S. Marshal say she wouldn't "give or feed these guys anything, they are pieces of (expletive,'' Arnold wrote.
"This delay, through no fault of Mr. Bundy's and despite his diligence, is impacting most severely at the very time which is essential for meeting the pretrial motion deadline and has thus further crippled Mr. Bundy's direct involvement in his defense and in preparing, reviewing and approving pretrial motions,'' Arnold wrote.
Federal prosecutor Ethan Knight sent this email to Ammon Bundy's lawyer on Tues., April 26, 2016, responding to Bundy's concern that legal records he prepared while in custody in Nevada were confiscated from him, before his flight back to Oregon earlier this week. (Federal court document) In his most recent motion, Arnold blasts the federal prosecution of defendants in the takeover of the Malheur Wildlife National Refuge, calling it a "misguided'' prosecution on "glorified criminal trespass'' charges.
Bundy is one of 27 defendants facing federal indictment stemming from the armed takeover of the federal bird sanctuary outside of Burns. It began Jan. 2 and lasted 41 days. Bundy has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers working at the refuge through force, intimidation or threats, possession of firearms in a federal facility and the carrying and use of a firearm during the course of a crime of violence.
His attorney estimated that it will cost each lawyer to defend their client between approximately $400,000 and $1.5 million. Unlike most of his alleged conspirators, Bundy retained Arnold as his lawyer.
"That means that realistically, the government's exaggerated, hyperbolic and politically motivated prosecution of peaceful protesters could take about $27,000,000 to defend all 27 defendants, which does not include the attendant prosecution costs,'' Arnold wrote. "Thus, if the court cannot see fit to accord the defense – even a fraction of the deference and accommodation it has shown to the government - it makes sense to try the leader first, before moving forward with the rest.''
Federal prosecutors would be OK with a five-day delay granted for the filing of the legal motions in the case, according to Arnold's latest motion, but opposed to a 30-day delay. In an email to Arnold on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight said the U.S. Marshals Service is working to return Bundy's legal documents to him from Nevada.
Bundy's co-defendants are also opposed to Ammon Bundy being tried separately from them in an expedited trial, according to Arnold's motion.
A status hearing is scheduled for May 4 in the case. A trial date was set for Sept. 7.
Ammon Bundy was arrested Jan. 26 as he and other leaders of the occupation left the refuge and were driving to a community meeting in John Day. He said the protest was held to challenge federal claims to public land. After his arrest, he was concerned that federal officers would raid the refuge and harm other supporters of the occupation.
On Jan. 29, Arnold said he walked into the U.S. Attorney's Office in downtown Portland and met with prosecutors Knight and Geoffrey Barrow, to make Bundy's plea offer to the single federal conspiracy charge.
"This is the kind of leadership and responsibility with which Mr. Bundy has been known throughout his life, and certainly throughout this protest,'' Arnold wrote in his motion.
On Feb. 10 - one day before the peaceful surrender of the last four refuge occupation holdouts - federal prosecutors responded in writing to Arnold, noting, "it is simply too early to discuss resolution of the case.''
In his latest motion, Arnold wrote of his client, "He was willing to sacrifice his broader interests and risk his liberty for his fellow protesters then, and stands ready now to go to an immediate trial now, as his right to a speedy trial entitles him.''
-- Maxine Bernstein
mbernstein@oregonian.com
503-221-8212
@maxoregonian