HCN on the Bundy trial

After reporting on the release of the defendants, Tay Wiles with High Country News writes:

The decision comes as Nevada prosecutors over the last two weeks have sought to make a case against Payne and the Bundys. They have called several witnesses in an attempt to prove the defendants conspired against the U.S. government and threatened federal officers. But their case is moving in fits and starts, disrupted at almost every turn by the defense. On Tuesday, Acting U.S. Attorney Steven Myhre told the judge he had noticed a recurring pattern in cross-examinations: an insinuation that “somehow the government is hiding evidence from the jury.” Those insinuations included questions from Cliven’s lawyer, Whipple, about whether a Bureau of Land Management officer bribed a Bundy family member to provide information. You tried to bribe him, didn’t you, Whipple asked BLM officer Robert Shilaikis. “What?” Shilaikis answered, incredulously. “No. No, sir.” After Whipple asked the bribery question a second time, Navarro interrupted, saying, “You’re just confusing the jury.” The following day, Whipple said he had new information: that a BLM officer had asked the Bundy family member “what will it take” to get him to relay information to Cliven about the upcoming cattle impoundment. This statement could be interpreted as a bribe, Whipple said. Whipple later told High Country News he intends to bring a witness in the case to testify to this alleged bribe. Also at issue in the trial are conflicting arguments about how much of a physical threat Cliven and his sons truly posed to federal employees. “We didn’t know what type of threat was coming our way,” Shilaikis, the BLM employee, told the court on Tuesday. In a recording of a phone call weeks before the standoff between two BLM law enforcement officers and Ryan Bundy, who is defending himself, played in court multiple times this week, the Bundy son said: “We are going to stop your (cattle) gather…I won’t tell you what we will do and what we won’t do. We will do whatever it takes.” Bundy also said he would have “hundreds” of supporters to help stop the impoundment. The prosecution attempted to use this recording to lay out how the BLM had tried repeatedly to find a resolution and communicate with the family about the upcoming impoundment. The defense used the opportunity to call into question government competence and trustworthiness. Through questioning Shilaikis, the defense team challenged the legality of recording a phone call in the first place. “There’s nothing improper with the call,” prosecutor Myhre contested. Ryan Bundy then indicated that Shilaikis’ partner, officer Michael Johnson, lied to him and denied recording the call. “Is that standard procedure for BLM to be untruthful in speaking with people?” Ryan Bundy asked Shilaikis. The defense’s line of questioning appeared to affect the jury. In written questions for the witness on Tuesday, rather than show an interest in the government’s case, they queried mostly about what the defense had poked at in cross-examination: BLM procedure and the legality of recording phone calls...

Also by Wiles, see: 

 How Ryan Bundy sees the West

Bundy trial delayed as the defense hammers on feds

The jury for key Bundy trial in Las Vegas has been selected