Webb Aide Arrested for Gun Possession
WASHINGTON (AP) - An aide to Sen. Jim Webb was arrested Monday when he entered a Senate office building with a loaded pistol, Capitol Police said.
Spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider said the aide was charged with carrying a pistol without a license and possessing an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.
The office of Webb, D-Va., identified the aide as Phillip Thompson and said he was "a former Marine, a long-term friend and trusted employee of the senator."
Report: Webb staffer arrested for carrying
gun (in a bag) into Senate office building
Allahpundit
We got tipped about this a little while ago, as did a bunch of other people — including Wonkette. I doubt our tipsters are the same as Denton’s, so there’s your two independent sources.
Jed Babbin says it’s a serious felony but John Lott thinks the gun probably belonged to Webb. Webb is allowed to carry it; the staffer apparently is not. If that’s the case, they’ll probably just plead freshman ignorance as to the rules about farming this particular duty out to aides and be let off with a warning.
Webb seems to be fairly solidly in favor of gun rights so he’s covered from the hypocrisy charge, at least. ...
Update (Bryan): I spent the better part of the early afternoon trying to nail this story down before posting. And it is a story, irrespective of where Webb happens to stand on gun rights. When a staffer to a Senator gets wrapped up in a potential felony, it is a story. And it is a story upon which some interesting questions might be based. The notion that the gun belongs to Webb, and not the staffer, could be just a cover story for all we know at this point. How the gun, loaded and with loaded magazines, got into the bag is a question worth asking. How often said gun gets carried around either by Webb or the staffer and whether it has made its way past Capitol security in the past is yet another possible line of inquiry. ...
Now, as to my adventure with the Capitol Police today, I guess I should chalk it up to a lack of technological sophistication. I called the CP three different times this afternoon to ask about this story, I got a different officer on the line each time, and asked for a specific Sgt in the Public Information office. Each time, the officer went to transfer me, only to lose my call. ...
