Probe into Dan Love’s criminal conduct by OIG bolstered by additional evidence

Information within the wrongful death lawsuit brought by the Estate of Dr. James Redd against Dan Love and the federal government furthers the contention that he is a thief.

by Marjorie Haun

The name ‘Dan Love’ has become synonymous with the arrogant attitudes and feckless, iron-fisted tactics so commonplace in federal administrative agencies.  Bureau of Land Management (BLM) agent and sometimes director, Dan Love, is being investigated by the federal Inspector General’s Office (OIG) for unethical, possibly illegal activities related to incidents during his term as an investigative agent and law enforcement director in Utah and Nevada. But Dan Love is no aberration. He was acclaimed and rewarded for his strong-arm tactics following the tragic Utah antiquities sting, Operation Cerberus, and was put in charge of the outrageous Bundy Ranch raid in April of 2014. By that time, Love had already established a reputation for ruthlessness, and it’s very likely that then-BLM Chief and Harry Reid lapdog, Neil Kornze, appointed him precisely because of his willingness to overstep the bounds of legal authority and common decency. 

With the Trump Administration taking serious steps to return the BLM to its proper mission and restore respectability to its public image, Interior Secretary Zinke is starting to address the agency’s nuisance personnel and policies. And although Dan Love is a vestige of Obama-era aggression and overreach, he’s a creation of the federal government, and it’s up to the feds to take care of their miscreant problem child.

FRR issued a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request to the OIG earlier this month, however, because the investigation is active, we are unable to obtain detailed information about the scope and implications of Love’s apparent criminal conduct. But the office did respond with this:

Free Range Report (FRR) has documented Love’s sadistic behavior towards the family of the most tragic of his victims, Dr. James Redd, whom Love targeted, harassed, and drove to suicide over a tiny Native American bead. And Love’s thuggish tactics related to the Bundy Ranch standoff, and the Burning Man event of 2015, have been broadcast widely. But on May 19th an explosive report by Deb Jordan of the Pete Santilli Show, revealed that Love’s crimes are worse than previous reports have shown. It stated:

According to records, a memorandum from The US Department of The Interior dated November 2nd, 2016  and signed by the BLM Director of Law Enforcement Security Salvatore R. Lauro , was issued to SAC Love informing him of his immediate suspension from duty and directing him to turn in his uniforms, badges, and government issued firearms.  Love was also stripped of his Law Enforcement Authority.

The suspended BLM Special Agent In Charge was being investigated internally for two extremely heinous acts.

The first offense on record was, that on more than one occasion Love ordered a subordinate to drive a government issued vehicle to run personal errands for him.  There have been some outside reports claiming the subordinate found ancient Indian artifacts in Love’s vehicle during this process, but the most egregious allegation was still to come.

After a raid on the Redd Family of Blanding, Utah, that also involved several other collectors of ancient Indian artifacts in the surrounding area, Love demanded the Utah Department of The Interior Evidence Custodian to retrieve several of the artifacts from the evidence room so he could display them on his desk. The internal investigation also states that Love gave at  least several BLM Agents, other “Federal Agents,” and one private contractor “Moqui Marbles” to keep as a trophy after the 2009 raid he and FBI Special Agent Greg Bretzing called, Operation Cerberus.

Although we have not been able to view the documents mentioned in the Pete Santilli Show report, all available information reinforces the supposition that the current Dan Love investigation is serious and far-reaching. In February, Love’s withholding and deletion of federal records–both, serious crimes–related to the Bundy Ranch raid and Burning Man event, were addressed in a letter from House Oversight Chairman, Jason Chaffetz (UT) to the OIG. It reads, in part:

I understand your office initiated this investigation in October of 2015 after receiving numerous complaints concerning Bureau of Land Management (BLM) employee Daniel Paul Love. The report documents numerous instances of troubling behavior exhibited by Love.

One such instance involved the intentional withholding of documents responsive to a congressional inquiry. Your report documents that a witness told your investigators that after receiving a congressional request for documents, the witness heard Dan Love “say to [another

BLM employee] that [said BLM employee] needed to make sure that he scrubbed the emails before he sent them, you know, flagging anything that looked inappropriate so that [Dan Love] could remove them if needed.”

In another part of the report, a witness testifies about how a BLM employee accessed and “deleted hundreds of documents” from a shared network. The deleted documents were “team documents” which served as the “historical record or administrative record” for a BLM authorized event. The witness stated the deleted documents were subject to the Federal Records Act, and were required, under the law not to be destroyed. If substantiated, these attempts to conceal documents and destroy federal records responsive to a congressional inquiry are unlawful, as it is a federal crime to obstruct a congressional investigation or falsify, conceal or cover up a material fact in one.

And it goes on:

Your report documents that Love allegedly attempted to influence the outcome of your investigation by coaching a witness in advance of an interview with your investigators. In your investigative report, you state a specific occasion when ” Dan Love called [a BLM employee] and… essentially gave [said BLM employee] talking points for any questions that may come up during his interview” with your office.

The report states Love provided that same BLM employee with “rationalizations,” leading the employee to believe Love was essentially telling them what to say in the interview. This allegation is problematic as it occurred after you had already initiated your investigation into Love’s behavior.

As a federal law enforcement officer, Love’ s actions have the potential to not only taint your investigation, but to seriously undermine the trust in BLM’ s law enforcement office and thwart congressional oversight of the Bureau. As such, I request that you investigate the specific allegations raised in your interviews of destruction of federal records, witness tampering, and obstruction of a congressional investigation.