OREGON STANDOFF BREAKING: HAMMONDS PARDONED BY PRESIDENT TRUMP, BUNDY THANKS GOD
"All glory goes to our Heavenly Father for this tender mercy! This is a step in the right direction lets remember those still suffering whom went to expose the atrocities of the Hammonds"
Ammon Bundy Facebook Post 7/10/2018
"Today President Donald J. Trump signed Executive Grants of Clemency (Full Pardons) for Dwight Lincoln Hammond Jr., and his son, Steven Hammond"
White House Press Release 7/10/2018
Word of the pardons came down around 10am this morning Eastern time. The White House says they are full pardons, not a commutation of sentences.
Dwight and Steven Hammond were released within hours from the federal prison at Terminal Island in Long Beach, California. They left the prison around 430pm Eastern time.
Dwight and Steven Hammond were released within hours from the federal prison at Terminal Island in Long Beach, California. They left the prison around 430pm Eastern time.
The White House issued a statement that read in part:
"Justice is overdue for Dwight and Steven Hammond, both of whom are entirely deserving of these Grants of Executive Clemency"
In his Facebook post, Ammon Bundy, who led the Oregon Standoff protest that brought the plight of the Hammonds to the world's attention, called the pardons a step in the right direction. Bundy wants the federal government to back off a 400-thousand dollar fine and any right of first refusal for the Hammonds to sell their land imposed on them in connection with their prosecution.
The Hammonds already paid the fine back in 2015 and today's action by President Trump does not reverse that.
The Hammonds already paid the fine back in 2015 and today's action by President Trump does not reverse that.
Bundy also noted those who sacrificed to protest in Oregon against the injustice done to the Hammonds and the need for justice for them. Jail time and other penalties were imposed on protesters other than the leaders, who were found not guilty by a jury in October 2016.
Republican politicians, government officials and or lobbying groups who stood silent during and even after the protest regarding justice for the Hammonds are making hay of the pardons and the pardon process, getting themselves involved in it.
This includes GOP Congressman Greg Walden who said today he wants to personally welcome the Hammonds back to their ranch.
Harney County Sheriff Dave Ward, who in the past was publicly accepting of the mandatory sentences imposed on the Hammonds when they were forced back to federal prison in 2016, switched sides to write in support of pardons for them in connection with the pardon process.
This is the right thing to do, thanks to President Donald J. Trump, but it took over 17 months after GOP control was cemented in Washington at the White House staff level and in Congress for the political machine to get this to the President's desk and acted upon.
One can argue that the Deep State machine around the President calculated this move to be an election year event more than a serious statement of principle.
I do not doubt President Trump's commitment to the pardons and his sincerity, but the others involved got into this issue I sense with something else in mind, votes in November.
This delay until election season (don't forget the paid 400-thousand dollar fine imposed on them and the right of first refusal by the federal government on land sale) meant way too much time in prison (going there twice) and more for the two men, way too much time as described by Maxine Bernstein in her "Oregon Live" story today:
This is the right thing to do, thanks to President Donald J. Trump, but it took over 17 months after GOP control was cemented in Washington at the White House staff level and in Congress for the political machine to get this to the President's desk and acted upon.
One can argue that the Deep State machine around the President calculated this move to be an election year event more than a serious statement of principle.
I do not doubt President Trump's commitment to the pardons and his sincerity, but the others involved got into this issue I sense with something else in mind, votes in November.
This delay until election season (don't forget the paid 400-thousand dollar fine imposed on them and the right of first refusal by the federal government on land sale) meant way too much time in prison (going there twice) and more for the two men, way too much time as described by Maxine Bernstein in her "Oregon Live" story today:
"As of this month, Dwight Hammond has served two years and nine months in prison and 31 months of supervised release. His son has served three years and four months in prison and two years of supervised release."
The Hammond's issued a statement through Attorney Morgan Philpot (who has represented Ammon Bundy in both the Oregon and Bunkerville cases). It reads in part:
..."we express gratitude to for the support we've received from our local community, for all those who wrote letters of support, for those who worked behind the scenes, and for those who have stood by our family through these hard times....."
Amanda Marshall, the former US Attorney for Oregon who was involved in the prosecution of the Hammonds told "Oregon Live": "It means their conviction doesn't exist. I find that incredibly troubling".
Marshall left her position under a cloud in 2015 after an affair with a subordinate led to her suspension from her post and loss of security clearance. She said at the time she was leaving for health reasons.
Her successor Billy Williams defended the successful appeal to the Ninth Circuit that led to the mandatory terrorism sentences and the Hammonds return to prison after serving lighter sentences.
Williams was appointed US Attorney for Oregon late in 2015 by the Obama Administration and reappointed more permanently by the Trump Administration.
Ryan Bundy, one of the Oregon Standoff protesters who was found not guilty at trial, told "Oregon Live" that the pardons were "long overdue. It's time. It's overtime."
Bundy sustained a shrapnel wound in his shoulder January 26, 2016 apparently when an FBI agent opened fire on him moments before another protester, LaVoy Finicum, was killed by an Oregon State Police SWAT trooper.
Links below...…
AMMON BUNDY FACEBOOK
BUNDY RANCH FACEBOOK
OREGON LIVE STORY-MAXINE BERNSTEIN 7/10/2018
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