Uranium, the Bundy ranch, and the fall guy for the FBI

It looks like one of the FBI agents will be set up as a fall guy for everyone’s misdeeds.

>An FBI agent accused of lying about firing two shots at Oregon standoff spokesman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum faces a five-count indictment, charging him with three counts of making a false statement and two counts of obstruction of justice.

>W. Joseph Astarita, 40, dressed in a dark pin-striped suit, made his first appearance on the indictment Wednesday in a packed federal courtroom, with heightened security inside and in the corridors of the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse.

>A lawyer standing beside Astarita entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to all charges. Astarita will remain out of custody pending trial.

>Astarita is accused of firing twice at Finicum as Finicum emerged from his truck after he swerved into a snowbank, nearly striking another FBI agent, to avoid a roadblock on U.S. 395 in Harney County. Finicum had sped away from a state police and FBI stop earlier on the rural roadway on Jan. 26, 2016 during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The agent’s shots didn’t hit Finicum.

>The indictment says Astarita, who had served as a member of an FBI Hostage Rescue Team, “falsely stated he had not fired his weapon during the attempted arrest of Robert La Voy Finicum, when he knew then and there that he had fired his weapon.”

The Oregonian -→ https://archive.is/l09PZ

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The background of the uranium and the Bundy ranch:

The first statement Julian Assange made at the beginning of the Podesta Leaks was about Uranium One. https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/press-release

This went largely unnoticed as 2 hours later a tape was leaked of Donald Trump having a lewd conversation about women.

Before the Podesta Leaks started, The NY Times had found a connection to Hillary Clinton and pay for play criminal activity with the Uranium One deal where Russia gained 20% of US yellowcake uranium mining rights in places like Oregon and Washington.

$2.5 million to Clinton Foundation: Https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0

BLM acquires land in Southern Oregon for Uranium One: http://www.blm.gov/or/energy/uranium.php

The Bundy Standoff was something I followed closely in January of 2016 as it unfolded and I couldn’t understand why the media was spreading so much disinformation about it.

The general opinion in the MSM was that these were white, conservative terrorists committing arson on federal land and were illegally occupying a federal building with guns. One of the protesters named LaVoy Finicum was shot in the back and killed on video by FBI agents: https://youtu.be/9DGXDgzOCls

I oppose mandatory minimum sentences and the government taking private land so I could totally understand why they were protesting.

The video testimony taken by “The Oregonian” from Ammon Bundy and LaVoy Finicum showed they were on their way to give a presentation in a neighboring county for a group of 400 concerning the grievances they had with the BLM when the FBI tried to stop and arrest them for “preventing Fish & Wildlife service officials from fulfilling their duties” due to the peaceful occupation of a service building.

From the words of the protesters: “The short summary is: in an effort to draw attention to a ridiculous arrest of a father and son pair of Oregon Ranchers (“Dwight Lincoln Hammond, Jr., 73, and his son, Steven Dwight Hammond, 46,) who are scheduled to begin five year prison sentences (turning themselves in tomorrow January 4th 2016), three brothers from the Cliven Bundy family and approximately 100/150 (and growing) heavily armed militia (former U.S. service members) have taken control of Malheur Wildlife Refuge Headquarters in the wildlife reserve. They are prepared to stay there indefinitely.” http://www.resurrecttherepublic.com/the-truth-full-story-of-federal-abuse-of-power-unconstitutional-land-grab-of-hammond-family-ranch/

The Hammonds were charged with terrorism when they set a backfire after a lightning storm has started a wildfire. The backfire saved their home and put out the wild fire saving thousands of acres.

Their land rights were wanted by the BLM. The Hammonds had refused to give up the rights but their land rights were sold to Russia through Uranium One.

The Hammonds had received a reduced sentence of 3 months and 12 months and had to pay the BLM $400,000. The Judge ruled the mandatory minimum unconstitutional violating the 8th Amendment to the US Constitution.

A new judge “re-sentenced” them in 2014 for the entire 5 year mandatory minimum. They are now forced to sell their ranch to pay the BLM or face further prosecution.

Russia acquired the rights to their land in 2013. http://www.pravdareport.com/russia/economics/22-01-2013/123551-russia_nuclear_energy-0/

The Bundy Protest was a peaceful protest over the Hammond’s re-sentencing and only turned violent with FBI shot and killed LaVoy Finicum after he exited the vehicle with his hands up and then agents laid siege to the 3 screaming occupants of the vehicle with flashbangs and gas rounds.

The FBI was also documented posing as militia harassing people in town and trying to turn public opinion against them. The Harney County Fire Chief of over 20 years resigned because he was told to “back off” when he followed FBI agents posing as militia and snooping around the Armory.

The night before his death, LaVoy claimed the demeanor of the FBI agents had suddenly changed and he expected them to be escalating the situation soon.

Originally, only the FBI drone footage of LaVoy Finicum’s death was released with no audio and it made the shooting seem justified. It looked like LaVoy was simply refusing to comply and reaching for a gun. The occupants in the truck claim hundreds of shots were fired but the mainstream media denied this claim.

Later the cell phone from inside the truck was released which showed the FBI shooting first and confirmed the additional shots fired after Lavoy’s death. This led to the investigation into lies told by the FBI agents which the mainstream media never picked up.

The Bundy Protesters were arrested and went to trial on Federal conspiracy and guns chargers. All defendants were found NOT GUILTY. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/10/oregon_standoff_verdicts_annou.html

This was after a juror had been removed after it was discovered he was a former BLM employee. http://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/juror-dismissed-in-oregon-standoff-trial-over-bias-concern/

The trial had also been expedited to happen “as soon as possible” and ended up happening during the election season so it received almost no media coverage. http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/02/federal_judge_presses_prosecut.html

They blocked the article from the web archive: https://web.archive.org/web/*/http://www.oregonlive.com/oregon-standoff/2016/10/oregon_standoff_verdicts_annou.html

The fight is not over. The Bundys are still facing separate charges: http://www.kgw.com/mb/news/local/ammon-ryan-bundy-head-to-nevada-for-new-felony-charges/346367891

I learned about the Uranium One connection to Malheur County and the BLM in January 2016 so when I saw the Wikileaks dump in October of 2016 was about Uranium One I connected the dots and I’ve been researching since.

Its circumstantial, but the dates and potential BLM and State Department involvement are what really makes me see a connection.

The Hammonds were the last land owners fighting the BLM and were re-sentenced the year after Russia finalized the Uranium One deal.

LaVoy Fincum murder drone &a cell phone together: https://youtu.be/9DGXDgzOCls

Wikileaks official statement on Uranium One email content: https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/press-release

BLM acquiring land for Uranium One in Malheur County: http://www.blm.gov/or/energy/uranium.php

http://www.blm.gov/or/districts/vale/index.php

http://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1740b/report.pdf

Aurora Uranium Mining project in Southern Oregon:https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1361605/000106299307002329/exhibit99-2.pdf

http://www.oregonlive.com/pacific-northwest-news/index.ssf/2012/01/malheur_county_targeted_for_go.html

NY Times article from 2015, $2.35 million in donations to Clinton Foundation from Uranium One Chair:Https://www.nytimes.com/2015/04/24/us/cash-flowed-to-clinton-foundation-as-russians-pressed-for-control-of-uranium-company.html?_r=0

Rosatom State Corporation acquires Uranium One: http://www.pravdareport.com/russia/economics/22-01-2013/123551-russia_nuclear_energy-0/

Hammond claim of unconstitutional land grab: http://www.resurrecttherepublic.com/the-truth-full-story-of-federal-abuse-of-power-unconstitutional-land-grab-of-hammond-family-ranch/

From the press:

 

BY MAXINE BERNSTEIN ,

mbernstein@oregonian.com

The Oregonian/OregonLive

An FBI agent accused of lying about firing two shots at Oregon standoff spokesman Robert “LaVoy” Finicum faces a five-count indictment, charging him with three counts of making a false statement and two counts of obstruction of justice.

W. Joseph Astarita, 40, dressed in a dark pin-striped suit, made his first appearance on the indictment Wednesday in a packed federal courtroom, with heightened security inside and in the corridors of the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse.

A lawyer standing beside Astarita entered not guilty pleas on his behalf to all charges. Astarita will remain out of custody pending trial.

Astarita is accused of firing twice at Finicum as Finicum emerged from his truck after he swerved into a snowbank, nearly striking another FBI agent,  to avoid a roadblock on U.S. 395 in Harney County. Finicum had sped away from a state police and FBI stop earlier on the rural roadway on Jan. 26, 2016 during the occupation of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge. The agent’s shots didn’t hit Finicum.

FBI agent W. Joseph Astarita at a hearing, June 28, 2017, at the federal courthouse in Portland. Deborah Marble/Special to The Oregonian/OregonLive

The indictment says Astarita, who had served as a member of an FBI Hostage Rescue Team, “falsely stated he had not fired his weapon during the attempted arrest of Robert La Voy Finicum, when he knew then and there that he had fired his weapon.”

Astarita is accused of lying to three supervisory FBI agents, concealing from Oregon investigators that he fired his weapon and failing to alert the FBI’s Shooting Incident Response team about his shooting.

“Defendant acted with the intent to hinder, delay and prevent the communication of information from the Oregon State Police to the Federal Bureau of Investigation relating to the possible commission of a federal offense,” the indictment says.

The criminal indictment stems from a more than yearlong investigation by the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Justice.

Defense lawyer Alison Clark represented Astarita during the two-minute hearing but told the court he expects to obtain his own local attorney. U.S. Magistrate Judge Janice M. Stewart set a trial date for Aug. 29. Assistant U.S. Attorney Pamala Holsinger estimated a trial would last one week.

The indictment will likely cast a shadow on the elite, highly trained FBI Hostage Rescue Team and fuel Finicum supporters and groups fighting government control of public land.

Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz, working with the Deschutes County Major Incident Team, conducted the investigation. A Deschutes County Sheriff’s detective who was involved in the investigation attended the court hearing.

Oregon’s U.S. Attorney Billy J. Williams held a news conference after the hearing, standing with Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson, Oregon State Police Superintendent Travis Hampton, Special Agent-in-Charge Michael Tompkins of the Office of the Inspector General and the U.S. Attorney’s office chief criminal prosecutor Holsinger.

“Special Agent Astarita’s alleged actions that led to this investigation and indictment do not, in any way, call into question the findings of the (Deschutes County) Major Incident Team’s investigation of OSP’s use of deadly force,” Williams said. “OSP’s actions were justified and necessary in protecting officer safety.”

Sheriff Nelson credited his investigators for “going where the evidence led,” and discovering the FBI’s actions. Nelson, though, said he was “disappointed and angry” that the FBI Hostage Rescue Team’s  actions “damage the integrity of the entire law enforcement profession.”

The sheriff also slammed the FBI for failing to place the agent and his fellow Hostage Rescue Team members on paid leave when he and investigators traveled to FBI headquarters over a year ago and briefed the FBI’s then-deputy director Andrew McCabe, now acting director, about the investigation’s findings and potential criminal liability.

“I was disappointed when I recently heard the FBI HRT agents associated with this case were not placed on administrative  leave after the briefing by our investigators to the FBI administration,” Nelson said. “Today’s indictment will ensure that the defendant and hopefully any other HRT members will be held accountable through the justice process.”

U.S. attorney’s statement

The federal agent’s bullets didn’t hit Finicum, 54, an Arizona rancher who was one of the leaders of the Jan. 2 takeover of the federal bird sanctuary near Burns.

Moments later, state troopers shot Finicum three times after he emerged from his white truck at the roadblock and reached for his inner jacket pocket, where police said he had a loaded 9mm handgun. Bullets struck him in the back and one  pierced his heart, an autopsy found.

The FBI and state police moved in on Ammon Bundy and other key figures as they were driving from the refuge to a community meeting about 100 miles away in John Day. Finicum took off with others in his truck after police stopped the two-car convoy on U.S. 395. He encountered the roadblock further along the highway and crashed into a snowback.

As he emerged from the truck, an FBI agent fired two shots, though none of the Hostage Rescue Team members admitted to discharging their guns, Deschutes County Sheriff Shane Nelson alleged. The Sheriff’s Office investigated what occurred that day.

Oregon investigators concluded that Astarita fired twice at the truck, hitting it in the roof and missing on the second shot. A state trooper later described to investigators seeing two rifle casings in the area where the agents were posted. But detectives who arrived later at the scene to investigate didn’t find the casings, police reports indicated.

The indictment follows two federal trials against refuge occupiers accused of conspiring to impede U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and U.S. Bureau of Land Management employees from doing their work through intimidation, threat or force.

Ammon Bundy, his older brother Ryan Bundy and five other defendants were acquitted of conspiracy and weapon charges last fall. Two other co-defendants were found guilty of conspiracy after a trial this year. Others were found guilty of misdemeanor charges, such as trespass. Eleven other refuge occupiers pleaded guilty to the federal conspiracy charge.

“The Finicum family applauds the U.S. Department of Justice for doing this. Nobody is above the law,” said Brian Claypool, the lawyer for widow Jeanette Finicum and her family. “The fact that the U.S. Department of Justice stepped in and investigated one of their own and said, ‘You can’t obstruct justice, you’re not above the law’ sends a very positive message. This is about upholding public trust and preserving the integrity of any investigation involving a death at the hands of law enforcement.”

The Finicum family has put Oregon State Police and the U.S. government on notice of its intent to file a civil claim alleging excessive force in Finicum’s death. No lawsuit has been filed yet, but the agent’s indictment will only serve to support the civil case, Claypool said.

Claypool said he believes that the agent didn’t admit shooting at Finicum when he did because the timing of the shots wasn’t justified. When Finicum crashed into the snowbank, he “was not posing a risk of serious harm” and the shots escalated the situation, Claypool said.

It’s unclear if any of the four other members of the Hostage Rescue Team who were under investigation for allegedly covering up the shots will face sanction.

During the occupation trials, defense lawyers urged the judge to compel the government to turn over investigative records of the FBI’s alleged misconduct. But U.S. District Judge Anna J. Brown said the FBI’s actions weren’t relevant to the conspiracy, weapons and other charges against Ammon Bundy and the others.

On Wednesday, federal officials would not say whether or not Astarita is still working for the FBI or has been placed on leave, nor if any action has been taken against the other members of his FBI Hostage Rescue Team who were at the scene of the Finicum stop and shooting. An FBI spokeswoman also declined any comment.

Hampton, the Oregon state police superintendent, said he was discouraged that the FBI agent’s actions on Jan. 26, 2016 may diminish law enforcement’s reputation. He said the actions, however, are not representative of the FBI or the hundreds of others who were involved in the arrests of the occupation leaders.

When the investigation of the FBI’s actions was announced last year, former FBI agents and criminal justice experts said they were stunned that an agent might lie about firing his gun. That the bullets missed their apparent target drew even more disbelief.

“Here you have one of the best trained units in the FBI. They’re only supposed to shoot when there’s an active threat. You would hope they would be accurate in doing so,” said Michael German, a 16-year veteran of the FBI who now serves as a national security expert and fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice in New York University’s School of Law.

“In the FBI, the most important thing is to tell the truth,” said Danny Coulson, who served as special agent in charge of the FBI in Oregon from 1988 to 1991 before becoming the agency’s deputy assistant director in charge of terrorism operations. Coulson was the first commander of the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team and was a deputy FBI director during the bloody 1992 shootout in Ruby Ridge, Idaho. He now runs a security consulting business in Texas.

Source:

https://archive.is/l09PZ