Protective order in Bundy ranch case challenged by AP, Nevada newspapers

The Associated Press has filed court documents in hopes of keeping federal prosecutors from withholding material from the press regarding the 2014 land rights standoff at Cliven Bundy’s Bunkerville, Nevada, ranch. Paperwork filed Tuesday in Nevada District Court adds the news wire-service to a legal fight against the government launched previously by the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Battle Born Media, a group that publishes a dozen newspapers between Nevada and California. Together, the three companies hope to convince a judge to allow evidence concerning the 2014 Bundy ranch standoff be made available to the media. “The AP joining in the motion to intervene reflects the broad nature of the media interest in this case and in transparency,” attorney Maggie McLetchietold the Review-Journal. Nineteen defendants, including Mr. Bundy, are slated to stand trial in February 2017 to face charges stemming from the weekslong standoff sparked by a dispute between Mr. Bundy and the U.S. Bureau of Land Management. As both sides prepare their cases, however, the government’s attorneys last week said defense lawyers should be prohibited from showing the press and public any evidence uncovered during the discovery process in order to protect its witnesses before trial...more