Associated Press joins fight against government secrecy in Bundy case
The Associated Press, a worldwide newsgathering organization, has joined the Las Vegas Review-Journal’s fight against a government bid to withhold key evidence from the public in the Bunkerville standoff case.
Lawyer Maggie McLetchie filed court papers Tuesday adding the AP as an intervening party, along with the Review-Journal and Battle Born Media, a group of rural Nevada newspapers.
“The AP joining in the motion to intervene reflects the broad nature of the media interest in this case and in transparency,” McLetchie said.
The media organization operates in 106 countries and provides news stories through 15,000 media outlets, McLetchie wrote in her court papers.
Like the Review-Journal, the AP has reported extensively on the 2014 armed standoff with law enforcement near the Bundy family ranch and the subsequent criminal proceedings, she said.
Federal prosecutors contended in court papers last week that a protective order is needed to keep evidence secret and ensure the safety of witnesses.
They seek to prohibit defense lawyers from giving copies of critical trial evidence — including sworn search warrant affidavits and FBI investigative reports — to the public and media.
Lawyers for most of the 19 defendants, including rancher Cliven Bundy and his four sons, oppose the government’s proposed protective order, arguing that it is too broad.
Barry Smith, executive director of the Nevada Press Association, on Monday voiced public support for the news organizations fighting the government’s secrecy push, saying its “blanket request” seems to have gone too far.
Contact Jeff German at jgerman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-8135. Find @JGermanRJ on Twitter.
Previous coverage
See a timeline of events leading up Cliven Bundy’s conflict with the Bureau of Land Management in 2014. Also, see the most recent reports involving Bundy and his family.
