Webb aide's gun charge dropped by prosecutor

[Lodge2004]

Not unexpected, but still interesting to me. The picture of Webb in the artice makes him look kinda nuts.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007 ... 007/279797

WASHINGTON--Authorities dropped charges yesterday against an aide to Virginia Sen. Jim Webb who carried a loaded gun into the U.S. Capitol complex.

"After reviewing and analyzing all of the evidence in the case, we do not believe the essential elements of the crime of carrying a pistol without a license can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt," said U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor, top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

Webb senior aide Phillip Thompson, 45, of Stafford County, was arrested on March 26 after Capitol Police spotted the loaded pistol and two other loaded magazines in a briefcase being scanned by an X-ray machine at the entrance of the Russell Senate office building.

Thompson told the officer at the building's entrance that the weapon belonged to Webb.

The senator said later he did not give Thompson the gun but refused to say whether it was his. Webb told reporters Thompson had carried the gun into the building "completely inadvertently."

District of Columbia law prohibits carrying a handgun or concealed weapon without a license.

[frankie_the_yankee]

Not unexpected, but still interesting to me. The picture of Webb in the artice makes him look kinda nuts.

http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2007 ... 007/279797

Not surprising. If you saw him give the Democrat response to President Bush's State of the Union message a couple of months ago, he looked AND sounded a little nuts then too.

On the theory that if it walks and talks like a duck, it's probably a duck, my guess is that he IS a bit nuts.

Then, there's some of the fiction he writes...............

Move over Mr. Cho.

WASHINGTON--Authorities dropped charges yesterday against an aide to Virginia Sen. Jim Webb who carried a loaded gun into the U.S. Capitol complex.

"After reviewing and analyzing all of the evidence in the case, we do not believe the essential elements of the crime of carrying a pistol without a license can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt," said U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor, top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

Hmmmm.............. The guy was physically carrying a pistol, and he as a matter of uncontested fact DID NOT HAVE A LICENSE.

How much proof does this Mr. Taylor need?

I think Mr. Cho could assume the role of prosecutor and prove this case, if he were still alive.

Rosie O'Donnell could certainly get it done.

But then, I haven't read the DC statute. Maybe it says that it is unlawful to carry a pistol without a license unless you are connected to a high-ranking elected Democrat.

I think Webb should resign.

Then, he should be adjucated as mentally incompetent and committed, so he couldn't own or carry guns.

[tomneal]

I knew the charges would be dropped.
I thought it was funny that they announced it late Friday afternoon.

[KBCraig]

WASHINGTON--Authorities dropped charges yesterday against an aide to Virginia Sen. Jim Webb who carried a loaded gun into the U.S. Capitol complex.

"After reviewing and analyzing all of the evidence in the case, we do not believe the essential elements of the crime of carrying a pistol without a license can be proved beyond a reasonable doubt," said U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor, top prosecutor in the District of Columbia.

Hmmmm.............. The guy was physically carrying a pistol, and he as a matter of uncontested fact DID NOT HAVE A LICENSE.

How much proof does this Mr. Taylor need?

Having proof of the act isn't the same as having the essential elements of the crime. Most notably, mens rea.

If you boss told you to go fetch his bag out of his car, and you were busted because there was a kilo of cocaine inside, I'd expect the charges to be dropped against you, too.

Kevin

[frankie_the_yankee]

Having proof of the act isn't the same as having the essential elements of the crime. Most notably, mens rea.

If you boss told you to go fetch his bag out of his car, and you were busted because there was a kilo of cocaine inside, I'd expect the charges to be dropped against you, too.

Kevin

Yeah, I know about mens rea. And the example you gave is a good one for illustrating that in some cases, mens rea may not be present - hence, no crime.

Call me suspicious, if you will, but I think that if the DC cops busted a young black man of limited means carrying someone else's briefcase that contained a pistol and loaded mags, the prosecutor would be a heck of a lot more comfortable that he had the mens rea angle covered and would not hesitate to prosecute.

Besides, the shifting and contradictory stories told by Webb and the aide establish pretty clearly that they both knew what was in that case. If I was the prosecutor, I would have also charged them with conspiracy to carry a handgun without a license.

I'll stick to my original theory, that it's illegal to carry a handgun without a license in DC unless you're connected to a high-ranking elected Democrat, and you are willing to lie through your teeth.

The fix was in, and it stinks. I don't even care that Webb is a 2A guy. He's a borderline nut case, who "maccaca'd" his way into office.

Of course, I could also take the idealistic view that ANY law-abiding resident of DC can carry a handgun, without a license, whenever they feel that they need it to protect themselves or their families, without having mens rea - because the law banning it is itself criminal. The only mens rea I can see is that of the DC officials who passed the law and who continue to enforce it. All of them violated their oaths of office, and deserve to be impeached.

Question: What is the most ignored sound in America?

Answer: It's what you hear when someone puts their hand on a bible and says, "......to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, so help me God."

Question: What's the second most ignored sound in America?

Answer: A car alarm.

[seamusTX]

Frankie, who appointed U.S. Attorney Jeff Taylor to the District of Columbia position?

- Jim

[frankie_the_yankee]

From Wikopedia:

Jeffrey A. Taylor is the interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia.

[edit] Career
Prior to his work in Washington, DC, Jeffrey Taylor served as an Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of California from 1995–1999.[1] From 1999 to 2002, Mr. Taylor served as majority counsel on the Senate Judiciary Committee where he advised Chairman Orrin Hatch and drafted provisions of the USA PATRIOT Act.[2]

Before his appointment as U.S. Attorney, Mr. Taylor served as Counselor to Attorneys General John Ashcroft and Alberto Gonzales from 2002 to 2006 where he oversaw law enforcement operations by U.S. attorneys.[1] He was appointed interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia by Alberto Gonzales on September 22, 2006 and was sworn in seven days later.[1] He took office so quickly because he bypassed Senate confirmation under a provision of the USA Patriot Act.[2]


So it looks like Gonzales appointed him.

[seamusTX]

Right. Do you think he has a soft spot for Democrats?

- Jim

[frankie_the_yankee]

Right. Do you think he has a soft spot for Democrats?

- Jim

No, but I think he has a soft spot for doing his duty, at least from the way he handled this case. He should have prosecuted the aide for carrying, and the both of them for conspiracy. Psycho Webb's public statements make a good case for both.

Note that the point is moot for Republicans. If this had happened to an aide for a Republican senator, the press would have clamored for them to resign. After a few days of confused statements and apologies, both the senator and the aide WOULD resign.

Which is what I think psycho Webb and his aide should do.

BTW, the fact that this prosecutor was appointed by the panicky mumbler Gonzales (aka "Harriet Meyers II")is not exactly a rebuttle to the idea that he is not suited to the job.

[HankB]

. . . I'll stick to my original theory, that it's illegal to carry a handgun without a license in DC unless you're connected to a high-ranking elected Democrat, and you are willing to lie through your teeth.

The fix was in, and it stinks. . .

Ted Kennedy's bodyguard didn't go to the slammer when he was caught entering the Senate office building with a couple of (reported) SMGs and a pistol . . . it helped a lot that his patron, Ted Kennedy, had experience ducking the consequences of criminal action.

[KBCraig]

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070618/ap_ ... ate_arrest

Sen. says he owns gun carried by aide

Sun Jun 17, 8:26 PM ET

Sen. Jim Webb finally admitted he owns a gun that an aide was arrested for carrying into the U.S. Capitol complex in March.

Webb previously had refused to say whether the gun was his, although his senior aide — Phillip Thompson — had told police the weapon belonged to the Democratic senator.

"It's my gun," Webb told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in a recent interview. But how and why it was in Thompson's possession remains unclear. Webb said he didn't give the gun to Thompson, "nor did I ask him to do anything with it."

Thompson was arrested on an illegal handgun charge when he carried the loaded pistol and two loaded magazines in a briefcase into the Russell Senate office building. A federal prosecutor later dropped the charge.

Webb said little about the incident in March, saying he did not want to prejudice the outcome of Thompson's case.

"It was a matter under legal consideration, and I was precluded from saying anything," Webb told the Richmond newspaper.

Webb declined to say whether he complies with the District of Columbia's law that prohibits carrying a handgun or concealed weapon without a license.

[AV8R]

If you boss told you to go fetch his bag out of his car, and you were busted because there was a kilo of cocaine inside, I'd expect the charges to be dropped against you, too.

Kevin

Last time I was in D. C., I didn't get the impression that cocaine was illegal there. Is that something new?

[dihappy]

"It's my gun," Webb told the Richmond Times-Dispatch in a recent interview. But how and why it was in Thompson's possession remains unclear. Webb said he didn't give the gun to Thompson, "nor did I ask him to do anything with it."

I seriously doubt this guy knows how much of an idiot he is.

Heres me if i was a reporter:

"It's my gun," Webb told Dihappy in a recent interview. But how and why it was in Thompson's possession remains unclear. Webb said he didn't give the gun to Thompson, "nor did I ask him to do anything with it."

"So it is your weapon, which you are responsible for, and you dont know where it might be from one moment to the next?" Webb was asked by the reporter. "Thats correct, im an idiot and should not hold public office" says Webb.

[para driver]

I thought posession of a weapon in DC was a crime, period? Even having it locked in the trunk of your car?? Can anyone clarify?

If it's legal to have it in your trunk, then the Senator simply says he picked up the wrong bag...