Three days after his arrest, Ammon Bundy offered to plead guilty to a federal conspiracy charge in the takeover of the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge if the government dismissed charges against others in custody and let people still at the refuge leave peacefully without arrest, his lawyer says.

Prosecutors rejected the offer.

Bundy "was willing to sacrifice his broader interests and risk his liberty for his fellow protesters,'' Bundy's lawyer, Mike Arnold, wrote in a motion filed Wednesday.

Arnold now is asking the court to delay a deadline for filing legal motions in the conspiracy case for 30 days to allow him to fully prepare his arguments in the case.

If not, Arnold requested an immediate trial for Bundy apart from his 26 co-defendants.

"If Mr. Bundy is unable to meaningfully and fairly engage in credible and diligent pretrial litigation and motion practice ... while the government piles terabytes of discovery data here and pursues a separate but related prosecution in Nevada, there is no purpose served whatsoever in the prolonged pretrial incarceration of himself and his colleagues here in Oregon who all share (along with their families) its attendant hardships,'' Arnold wrote in a 24-page motion.

If the court does not grant a delay for filing the legal motions, Arnold wrote, "it makes sense to try the leader first, before moving forward with the rest.''

Arnold argued that Bundy, 40, was hampered in helping prepare his defense as he traveled to and from Nevada this month to make a court appearance in a separate federal indictment issued in the 2014 standoff with federal officers outside his father's ranch near Bunkerville.

According to his lawyer, Bundy made lengthy notes while in custody in Nevada, but they ended up confiscated by the U.S. Marshals Service before his return flight Monday to Oregon.

Arnold also contends Bundy was mistreated while in Nevada, held in solitary confinement for more than 21 hours at first and denied regular meals. His client overheard a deputy marshal say she wouldn't "give or feed these guys anything, they are pieces of (expletive),'' Arnold wrote.

"This delay, through no fault of Mr. Bundy's and despite his diligence, is impacting most severely at the very time which is essential for meeting the pretrial motion deadline and has thus further crippled Mr. Bundy's direct involvement in his defense and in preparing, reviewing and approving pretrial motions,'' Arnold wrote.

Federal prosecutor Ethan Knight sent this email to Ammon Bundy's lawyer on Tues., April 26, 2016, responding to Bundy's concern that legal records he prepared while in custody in Nevada were confiscated from him, before his flight back to Oregon earlier this week. (Federal court document)

In the motion, Arnold blasts the federal prosecution of defendants in the refuge takeover, calling it a "misguided'' effort based on "glorified criminal trespass'' charges.

Bundy is one of 27 defendants facing federal indictment in the armed takeover of the federal bird sanctuary outside Burns in Harney County. It began Jan. 2 and lasted 41 days. Bundy has pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiring to impede federal officers working at the refuge through force, intimidation or threats, possession of firearms in a federal facility and the carrying and use of a firearm during the course of a crime of violence.

Arnold estimated that it will cost each lawyer between $400,000 and $1.5 million to represent the defendants. Unlike most of the others, Bundy hired Arnold as his lawyer. The others have court-appointed attorneys.

"That means that realistically, the government's exaggerated, hyperbolic and politically motivated prosecution of peaceful protesters could take about $27,000,000 to defend all 27 defendants, which does not include the attendant prosecution costs,'' Arnold wrote. "Thus, if the court cannot see fit to accord the defense - even a fraction of the deference and accommodation it has shown to the government -- it makes sense to try the leader first, before moving forward with the rest.''

Federal prosecutors would be OK with a five-day delay in Wednesday's deadline but oppose a 30-day delay, according to Arnold's motion. As Arnold filed his recent motion for a delay, other defense lawyers in the case were meeting Wednesday's deadline, submitting their lengthy legal defense motions.

In an email to Arnold on Tuesday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Ethan Knight said the U.S. Marshals Service is working to return Bundy's legal documents to him from Nevada.

Bundy's co-defendants also oppose Bundy being tried separately in an expedited trial, according to Arnold's motion.

A status hearing is scheduled for May 4 in the case. A judge earlier set a Sept. 7 trial date.

Bundy was arrested Jan. 26 as he and other leaders of the occupation left the refuge and were driving to a community meeting in John Day. He said the protest was held to challenge federal claims to public land. After his arrest, he was concerned that federal officers would raid the refuge and harm other supporters of the occupation.

On Jan. 29, Arnold said he walked into the U.S. Attorney's Office in downtown Portland and met with prosecutors Knight and Geoffrey Barrow to make Bundy's plea offer to the single federal conspiracy charge.

"This is the kind of leadership and responsibility with which Mr. Bundy has been known throughout his life and certainly throughout this protest,'' Arnold wrote in his motion.

On Feb. 10 -- a day before the peaceful surrender of the last four refuge occupation holdouts -- federal prosecutors responded in writing to Arnold, noting, "It is simply too early to discuss resolution of the case.''

-- Maxine Bernstein

mbernstein@oregonian.com

503-221-8212

@maxoregonian