THE OREGON STANDOFF STORY CONTINUES

AMMON BUNDY'S LAWYER MARCUS MUMFORD GETS A 'FULL HEARING' TO              PRESENT EVIDENCE CONTESTING HIS DISBARMENT  ON JANUARY 8TH    

FBI AGENT ACCUSED OF LYING ABOUT SHOOTING WHEN LAVOY FINICUM WAS KILLED WILL NOT FACE TRIAL UNTIL FEBRUARY AS FEDERAL PROSECUTORS WANT RYAN BUNDY'S SHRAPNEL WOUND SUSTAINED THAT NIGHT OPENED   

PENALTY PHASE FOR NON LEADERSHIP OREGON STANDOFF DEFENDANTS WHO PLED GUILTY OR WERE FOUND GUILTY IN SECOND TRIAL    

The dramatic courtroom events that accompanied  the acquittal of Ammon Bundy and six others tried as the 'leaders' of the Oregon Standoff protest last October 27th still sears one's memory,

His lead defense lawyer Marcus Mumford was arguing for the paperwork that said the federal government could continue to hold him prisoner over the Bunkerville Standoff in 2014..

The federal government didn't produce the paperwork but the federal marshals in the courtroom descended on Mumford, tackling, tasing and arresting him.

Mumford was charged with being a disruptor of the courtroom and a threat to the federal marshals.

They actually claimed he took a threatening stance against them.

Legal wrangling led to the charges against Marcus Mumford being dropped.

But things didn't stop there.   The Chief Federal Judge in Oregon,  Michael Mosman, moved to disbar Mumford from practicing in federal courts in Oregon.

The legal wrangling over the disbarment has led to Mumford being granted a hearing on January 8th, 2018 for a full presentation of evidence to support his case against disbarment.

Mumford's successful defense of the Oregon Standoff leader Ammon Bundy and the acquittal of his co-defendants led to other  retaliatory acts including the rigged second trial for the Oregon Standoff defendants where their evidence was limited and misdemeanor charges were tacked on.

And the retaliation continued in this year's Bunkerville Standoff trials for the protests around Bundy Ranch in 2014 with increasingly severe restrictions on the defense for the accused.

The trial of the FBI agent charged with lying about shooting at LaVoy Finicum's truck in the incident that resulted in Finicum's killing will not take place as originally scheduled later this month.

The new trial date for W. Joseph Astarita, who remains on the job in an "administrative capacity" for the FBI, is in February of next year.

Evidence and potential evidence is being sorted through and considered.   It was reported recently by Maxine Bernstein of "Oregon Live" that the federal prosecutor's office is talking to Ryan Bundy's lawyer.

That's because Ryan Bundy was riding in LaVoy's truck when the shooting started and said he was injured that night with a shrapnel wound.   Bundy refused to have the shrapnel removed when he was taken to a hospital after his arrest.

Bundy said he wanted to preserve the evidence there and not have it disappear.  Now the federal government thinks Bundy's shrapnel wound may be key evidence in proving Astarita lied about shooting at the truck.

A penalty phase is now underway for some who pled guilty and or were convicted in the second trial of lesser figures in the Oregon Standoff protest.

Travis Cox received two years of probation with two months house detention recently admitting he made a rash decision and a mistake in participating in the protest.

Meanwhile, Eric Lee Flores has agreed to pay 3-thousand dollars in restitution.

On Wednesday August 16th, US District Judge Anna J. Brown ordered Oregon Standoff protestor Darryl Thorn's bail revoked.  Brown put Thorn back in jail after hearing recordings of phone calls he made where he appeared to be suicidal suggesting "suicide by cop".   The calls were made to his girlfriend.  His lawyer said Thorn was going through an "emotional crisis".

Also, still in the mix is a federal government effort to get blogger Gary Hunt to take down posts on his "Outpost of Freedom" blog that outed FBI informants in the Oregon Standoff.

Both Hunt and the federal government have been filing responses to each other with the US District Court in Portland.    The government filed its latest response last week (August 8th) in its effort to find Hunt in 'civil contempt'.

Hunt posted last Thursday (August 10th)...."what we have is a government that has turned against its citizen and afforded itself the immunity that used to belong only to the King (The King can do no wrong).  Unlike those who shot civilians in the Boston Massacre, we find no government agents standing trial for the people to determine innocence or guilt, such as the Oregon State Police and the FBI HRT members involved in the murder of LaVoy Finicum...."

With the current federal game only to charge one FBI agent with lying about the shooting that night how true Hunt's comments ring.

(THIS POST WAS UPDATED AFTER THE ORIGINAL POST DATE)