{"id":591837,"date":"2021-07-15T10:05:25","date_gmt":"2021-07-15T14:05:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=591837"},"modified":"2021-07-15T10:05:27","modified_gmt":"2021-07-15T14:05:27","slug":"lead-investigator-comes-forward-says-bidens-blm-nominee-was-extremely-anti-government-and-actively-involved-in-1989-eco-terrorism-incident","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/lead-investigator-comes-forward-says-bidens-blm-nominee-was-extremely-anti-government-and-actively-involved-in-1989-eco-terrorism-incident\/","title":{"rendered":"Lead Investigator Comes Forward, Says Biden\u2019s BLM Nominee Was \u2018Extremely Anti-Government\u2019 And Actively Involved In 1989 Eco-Terrorism Incident"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">36<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Flead-investigator-comes-forward-says-bidens-blm-nominee-was-extremely-anti-government-and-actively-involved-in-1989-eco-terrorism-incident%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=591837&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/07\/Tracy-stone-manning-e1623426249643.jpg\" class=\"ff-og-image-inserted\" \/><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A retired criminal investigator for the Forest Service said in a letter Wednesday that President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management was actively involved in the planning of a 1989 eco-terrorism incident.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The retired investigator said the nominee, Tracy Stone-Manning, was \u201cextremely difficult to work with; in fact, she was the nastiest of the suspects \u2026 She was vulgar, antagonistic and extremely anti-government.\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The investigator said Stone-Manning\u2019s refusal to cooperate with his investigation set his case back by many years.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Stone-Manning received legal immunity from prosecution in 1993 to testify that she mailed an anonymous and threatening letter in 1989 warning that a local Idaho forest had been sabotaged with tree spikes.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Stone-Manning told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in May that she was never the subject of a criminal investigation.&nbsp;<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>The retired investigator said that is not true: \u201cShe was aware that she was being investigated in 1989 and again in 1993 when she agreed to the immunity deal with the government to avoid criminal felony prosecution. I know, because I was the Special Agent in Charge of the Investigation.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>A retired criminal investigator for the Forest Service who served as the lead investigator into a 1989 tree spiking case in Idaho revealed Wednesday that President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management was actively involved in the planning of the eco-terrorism incident.<\/p>\n<p>The investigator, Michael Merkley, said in a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation that Stone-Manning was \u201cextremely difficult to work with; in fact, she was the nastiest of the suspects\u201d during the initial stages of his investigation in 1989.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe was vulgar, antagonistic and extremely anti-government,\u201d Merkley said.<\/p>\n<p>Merkley said that Stone-Manning refused to answer any questions when she was subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in 1989. Her refusal to cooperate with his investigation set the case back by many years, according to Merkely.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEventually, after further investigation, I discovered that she had known all along who had perpetrated the crimes,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Merkley\u2019s letter was addressed to Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee Chairman Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and the committee\u2019s ranking member Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming. The letter was first reported by <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/07\/15\/biden-blm-pick-allegations-499739\">Politico<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Merkley said he learned in December 1992 from the ex-girlfriend of one of the individuals who was later convicted for spiking the trees that Stone-Manning was the person responsible for mailing an anonymous and threatening letter to the Forest Service warning that the Idaho forest had been sabotaged with tree spikes.<\/p>\n<p>The ex-girlfriend \u201calso recounted a conversation she had overheard wherein Ms. Stone-Manning along with other co-conspirators planned the tree spiking and discussed whether to use ceramic or metal spikes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Merkley said that through the ex-girlfriend\u2019s account \u201cit became clear that Ms. Stone-Manning was an active member of the original group that planned the spiking of the Post Office Timber Sale trees.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Merkley added that the ex-girlfriend\u2019s testimony led a grand jury to send Stone-Manning a \u201ctarget letter\u201d informing her she was set to be indicted on criminal charges for her \u201cactive participation in planning these crimes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><a title=\"View Michael Merkley Letter To Joe Manchin And John Barrasso on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/document\/515920936\/Michael-Merkley-Letter-To-Joe-Manchin-And-John-Barrasso#from_embed\">Michael Merkley Letter To J\u2026<\/a> by <a title=\"View Andrew Kerr&#039;s profile on Scribd\" href=\"https:\/\/www.scribd.com\/user\/393392910\/Andrew-Kerr#from_embed\">Andrew Kerr<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Stone-Manning told the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee in writing in May that she has never been the target of a federal criminal investigation, but her testimony before a federal grand jury in 1989 and during a criminal trial in 1993 ultimately led to the conviction of an individual who had sabotaged a local forest with tree spikes.<\/p>\n<p>As previously reported by the DCNF, Stone-Manning received legal immunity from prosecution in 1993 to testify against the suspects in the tree-spiking incident. She said in court that the key suspect, John P. Blount, asked her to send the anonymous and threatening letter to the forest service on his behalf. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/06\/17\/john-barrasso-tracy-stone-manning-biden-withdraw-nomination\/\">(RELATED: Top GOP Senator Calls On Biden To Withdraw Nominee For \u2018Intentionally\u2019 Deceiving Committee About Involvement In \u2018Eco-Terrorism\u2019 Case)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>But Merkley said in his letter Stone-Manning was no hero. The retired investigator said that while she did provide testimony against her \u201cco-conspirators,\u201d during the criminal trial, she has not been forthright about the role she played in the incident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLet me be clear. Ms. Stone-Manning only came forward after her attorney struck the immunity deal, and not before she was caught. At no time did she come forward of her own volition, and she was never entirely forthcoming,\u201d Merkley wrote. \u201cShe was aware that she was being investigated in 1989 and again in 1993 when she agreed to the immunity deal with the government to avoid criminal felony prosecution. I know, because I was the Special Agent in Charge of the Investigation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barrasso, the ranking member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, said Merkley\u2019s letter proves that Stone-Manning actively collaborated with eco-terrorists and lied to his committee about her involvement in the incident.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am grateful to the lead investigator for providing the committee with all of the facts of the case,\u201d Barrasso said in a statement to the DCNF. \u201cNot only did Tracy Stone-Manning collaborate with eco-terrorists, she also helped plan the tree spiking in Clearwater National Forest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe has been covering up these actions for decades, including on her sworn affidavit to the committee,\u201d Barrasso added. \u201cThis new information confirms that Tracy Stone-Manning lied to the committee that she was never a target of an investigation. The nominee has no business leading the Bureau of Land Management. President Biden must withdraw her nomination and if he does not, the Senate must vote it down.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Merkley\u2019s letter comes after all Republican members of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee came out Wednesday in a <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/07\/14\/joe-biden-senate-energy-and-natural-resources-committee-tracy-stone-manning\/\">letter<\/a> urging Biden to withdraw Stone-Manning\u2019s nomination over her involvement in the tree spiking incident.<\/p>\n<p>Manchin, the committee\u2019s chairman, has yet to reveal how he will vote on Stone-Manning\u2019s nomination, according to Politico.<\/p>\n<p>The White House reiterated its support for Stone-Manning after being sent a copy of Merkley\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTracy Stone-Manning is a dedicated public servant who has years of experience and a proven track record of finding solutions and common ground when it comes to our public lands and waters,\u201d a White House official told the DCNF. \u201cShe is exceptionally qualified to be the next Director of the Bureau of Land Management.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A retired criminal investigator for the Forest Service said in a letter Wednesday that President Joe Biden\u2019s nominee to lead the Bureau of Land Management was actively involved in the &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"close","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-591837","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591837","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=591837"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/591837\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=591837"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=591837"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=591837"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}