OREGON STANDOFF FBI AGENT TRIAL: JURY DELIBERATES AND REACHES A VERDICT-NOT GUILTY
"....a hero who puts his life on the line for his country every day..."
Lead defense attorney Rob Cary characterizes FBI Agent W. Joseph Astarita after his acquittal
LINK TO VERDICT NEWS:Maxine Bernstein Twitter
The verdict came in this afternoon from the deliberations of the jury following the trial of FBI Hostage Rescue Team Agent W. Joseph Astarita.
ASTARITA WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY ON ALL THREE COUNTS AFTER SOME SIX HOURS OF DELIBERATIONS.
ASTARITA WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY ON ALL THREE COUNTS AFTER SOME SIX HOURS OF DELIBERATIONS.
Astarita was accused of two counts of making a false statement and one count of obstruction of justice.
He was prosecuted for lying about firing two shots at LaVoy Finicum's truck moments before Oregon Standoff protest spokesman Finicum was killed by Oregon State Police along US Route 395 in Harney County, Oregon on January 26, 2016.
One of Astarita's shots injured Ryan Bundy, another Oregon Standoff protester.
Going into the trial Lavoy's former associate and leader of the 2016 protest, Ammon Bundy, expected that Astarita would not face any consequences when the trial was all over. Bundy proved to be correct.
Reflecting on the trial before the verdict, LaVoy's widow Jeanette Finicum said the federal prosecutors made a poor case against Astarita. She has also said in other videos that the trial seemed to be heavily into the assassination of her husband's character rather than a robust attempt to prosecute the FBI agent.
Even if Astarita had been convicted, an appeal was certain. Some observers at the trial said that the 91-year old federal judge presiding, US District Judge Robert E. Jones, had actually fallen asleep at times.
One thing that did come out during the trial was a lot of sniping between the Oregon police and the FBI, with witnesses from both factions expressing criticism of how the other faction behaved during the "felony traffic stop" that ended up killing LaVoy Finicum and injuring Ryan Bundy.
At least two civil lawsuits are in the system right now over what happened including the one filed by members of the Finicum family.
The plantiffs got plenty of ammunition about bad acting and or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement during the whole fiasco of January 26, 2016 delivered by the competing factions in the trial.
In the aftermath of the verdict strong hugs were given to Astarita by his team of defense lawyers while prosecutors quietly left the room as reported by Maxine Bernstein of "OregonLive".
Astarita may face internal investigation by the FBI, but that is uncertain at this point.
Links below....
Reflecting on the trial before the verdict, LaVoy's widow Jeanette Finicum said the federal prosecutors made a poor case against Astarita. She has also said in other videos that the trial seemed to be heavily into the assassination of her husband's character rather than a robust attempt to prosecute the FBI agent.
Even if Astarita had been convicted, an appeal was certain. Some observers at the trial said that the 91-year old federal judge presiding, US District Judge Robert E. Jones, had actually fallen asleep at times.
One thing that did come out during the trial was a lot of sniping between the Oregon police and the FBI, with witnesses from both factions expressing criticism of how the other faction behaved during the "felony traffic stop" that ended up killing LaVoy Finicum and injuring Ryan Bundy.
At least two civil lawsuits are in the system right now over what happened including the one filed by members of the Finicum family.
The plantiffs got plenty of ammunition about bad acting and or unprofessional behavior by law enforcement during the whole fiasco of January 26, 2016 delivered by the competing factions in the trial.
In the aftermath of the verdict strong hugs were given to Astarita by his team of defense lawyers while prosecutors quietly left the room as reported by Maxine Bernstein of "OregonLive".
Astarita may face internal investigation by the FBI, but that is uncertain at this point.
Links below....
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