Nevada cattle rancher Cliven Bundy said in a lengthy written statement that he’s not going to sue the federal government after all, despite the number of lawyers he says have lined up to state his case against the Bureau of Land Management for free.
At the same time, he wrapped his statement by saying that he’s “assembling a team of legal advisers” to help decide his family’s best course of action. The Bundy family has been at the center of a nationally watched armed standoff with the BLM over grazing fees.
And some have said Mr. Bundy has a valid legal case against the federal government, over alleged excessive force that has reportedly left his prized cattle killed and his son needlessly injured with bloody wounds from a taser attack.
Mr. Bundy, in a written statement reported by Mediaite, addressed his thoughts on suing — but in a way that hardly clarified his planned course of action.
“We have chosen not to engage in legal action up to this point for two reasons. First, is simply because we have not felt impressed to do so,” he said. “We understand that as humans, we are limited to knowledge and understanding. We believe that the creator of this world possesses all knowledge and understanding. We also know that if we seek this knowledge, he will share it with us. Until recently, legal action has shown no benefit to this cause.”
And then he went on with the second reason.
“The second, is time based, the people expected Sheriff [Douglas] Gillespie and Governor [Brian] Sandoval to take action,” Mr. Bundy wrote, Mediaite reported. “We felt it was important to give them ample time to do what is right, time enough to start investigating the crimes that were committed upon their constituents. The primary purpose of both their positions is to protect the lives & liberties of the people they serve, and be a buffer against outside threats.”
Mr. Bundy then called it “disheartening” to watch these two individuals “betray and run with open arms to the very entities that mock the [C]onstitution,” Mediaite reported. He went on: “Our governor and sheriff should have been our heroes, but yet they remain corrupted.”
In his conclusion, Mr. Bundy reminded that the governor and sheriff “work for us, not the federal government.”
He wrapped: “With a sense of sadness and duty we announce that we are assembling a team of legal advisers and will be seeking the wisest action in assisting the PEOPLE in re-establishing individual protection through government.”
Mr. Bundy has also stated that lawyers have told him his case “has the makings of greatness,” and many have offered their pro-bono services, Mediaite reported.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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