Webb says he did not give aide his gun

[steve2470]

http://thehill.com/leading-the-news/webb-says-he-did-not-give-aide-his-gun-2007-03-27.html

By Jeremy Jacobs
March 27, 2007

Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.) said Tuesday that he did not give staffer Phillip Thompson the pistol whose possession got the aide arrested Monday when he tried to enter the Russell Senate office building.

“I have never carried a gun in the Capitol complex and I did not give the weapon to Phillip Thompson, and that’s all that I think I’ll say,” Webb told reporters.

“I think this is one of those very unfortunate situations where, completely inadvertently, he took the weapon into the Senate yesterday,” Webb added. The senator noted that he was in New Orleans from Friday until Monday. He speculated that the incident happened because three of his cars were moved because of the trip. <snip>

[onenote]

1. "that's all that I think I'll say" --- never a good response

Webb is probably trying to protect his staffer, but it ends up sounding like he's hiding something. He should have said nothing, or he should have given a more complete explanation. He shouldn't have left it hanging.

I like Jim Webb. He lives very close to me and I supported his candidacy wholeheartedly from the outset. But he is demonstrating his inexperience in the way he's handling this, I'm afraid.

[rodeodance]

2. oh boy!!

[Horse with no Name]

3. Doesn't sound good does it?

:popcorn:

[liberalnurse]

4. It makes sense to me.....

What more do you want him to say?

[onenote]

9. its not a question of saying more, its saying less

It was a mistake to suggest that there is more to the story but that he's not going to tell anyone.

[liberalnurse]

14. I didn't feel more was needed

or that more was behind the statement. I was satisfied.

[Horse with no Name]

10. I like Webb

But his answer was sorely lacking some details which probably by the end of the day will be filled with wild-eyed freeper speculation.

[Kagemusha]

5. How the hell did a false story get out then?

Stranger and stranger, and not in a good way.

[Squatch]

8. Yeah...we *never ever* see "false stories" on the internet.

[Burma Jones]

6. Like the guy is out to gun anyone down.......

[Catherine Vincent]

7. I don't trust Webb....

He was, after all, once a republican.

[trumad]

12. I don't trust you--

after all you were once a cat.

[Horse with no Name]

13. Some of my favorite people were cats once

:)

[bbgrunt]

22. some of my favorite people are still horses

[TahitiNut]

25. Which end?

:hide:

[Catherine Vincent]

15. I was never a cat.

My name is Catherine. ;-)

[brentspeak]

23. Your "concern" is duly noted

[Catherine Vincent]

27. I appreciate that.

I really do.

[Eurobabe]

35. and what pray tell, is wrong with that?

I am really sick of this fucking attitude from DUers.

[rman]

38. What matters is not the label, but the fruits of their labor.

The article reeks heavily of spin.

[BuyingThyme]

11. Notice he avoided saying anything about nukes.

[FyurFly]

16. Webb was in NOLA...

He might have needed his gun down there.

[Horse with no Name]

17. Why would you say that?

Just curious.

[FyurFly]

18. Have you read the latest reports on the rampant crime

in NOLA?

[rainy]

19. What is NOLA?

[FyurFly]

20. New Orleans, LA n/t

[Solo_in_MD]

21. Then if it is Webbs's pistol, how did he get it and what was his aide doing with it

The cryptic comments at the end of the article sound like Webb is already weasel wording.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

24. This doesn't look good. Letting his aide take the fall?

Maybe more facts will make it go away. Right now it looks like the good senator is too self-important to let himself be soiled by his screw-up, better to let the aide go down.

I hope I'm wrong, I hope he's more ethical than that.

[brentspeak]

26. Maybe more facts are necessary before you make more knee-jerk judgement posts.

[Horse with no Name]

28. Or the aide stole it?

There are plenty of other reasons.
I don't believe Webb will let someone take the fall if they aren't deserving of hitting the ground.

[JustABozoOnThisBus]

29. I hope you're right

I like Webb, and hope he isn't doing anything weasel-like at someone else's expense.

I doubt the aide stole it, probably just an error.

But it's Webb's gun, so it's Webb's responsibility to keep track of it and keep it secure.

[Virginian]

32. Take the fall?

You sound like he slipped the gun to his aide saying, "Here, hold this for a minute."
The gun was in the posession of the aide. It was legal for him to have it in Virginia, as soon as he drove across the bridge into DC, posessing it became a crime. If it weren't for the gun control laws of DC, the aide might have been able to say, "Oops" and lock the gun in his car in the senate garage.

Ironically, the man Webb defeated, Maccaca Man, George Allen had tried to bully DC out of their gun control laws.

[symbolman]

30. Maybe he doesn't want to admit to committing a crime

if he wasn't supposed to have a gun, and has no license for a hidden weapon, then he may be in big trouble too, can't admit he handed it over to someone else if HE wasn't to have it on HIM..

Too bad, this sounds like it might get sticky..

[CJCRANE]

31. Does this imply that the aide

was driving one of Webb's cars which had the gun inside?

Or the aide collected a briefcase (which contained the gun) from one of the cars?

[Virginian]

33. I hate passive tense. I think I know what probably happened.

"The incident happened because three of his cars were moved because of the trip."

Who moved the cars?
Were the cars moved with the permission and knowledge of the owners?
What was the connection of the cars being moved and the trip?
What was the connection to the cars being moved and the gun?
Where were the cars moved from and to?
Were the cars their transportation in NOLA?
Were the cars left in a parking facility in VA?

Did they fly commercial to NOLA? If so, how was the gun transported?

How was the aide carrying the gun when he was arrested? Was it in a briefcase or holster or suitcase?

What I think probably happend:
The gun had been in his suitcase for the flight. His car, which had been at the airport had been moved by someone in the office from the expensive airport valet parking lot to his secure senate office parking space. They put the keys on his desk. He caught a cab or a ride back to his office to get his car. He didn't have a spare set of keys on him, so he had to go up to the office to get his keys. He had to bring his suitcase with him into the office to get the keys.
To get to his office and the keys, he had to go through security...

It would have been cheaper to leave the car in airport parking.

Members of Congress get free parking at National Airport. The Congressional lot is usually pretty empty. That benefit is not extended to their staff.


I hate passive tense. -- "cars were moved", "mistakes were made"

[rman]

37. indeed - so little said, so much implied, so many questions, so little clarification

Thanks for your take on it.
One would think that any journalist could come up with the questions you ask, it is as though they -want- things not to be clarified.

[Virginian]

39. No, the gun was in his briefcase.

(Local news says gun was in briefcase)

Aide picked it up to keep track of it while Webb was traveling.

I still think it was an innocent mistake, but my previous scenario doesn't work with the briefcase location. Briefcase wouldn't be checked-in on flight, Gun wouldn't be in carry on.

[Leopolds Ghost]

34. Geez, it sounds like the aide simply brought in Webb's briefcase without knowing the gun was inside.

People have wild-assed imaginations like freepers simply because they are in favor of gun control.

[Leopolds Ghost]

36. Maybe he had just pistol-whipped a Halliburton bandito in NOLA and had to ditch the evidence.

But his irresponsible aide, one of the O'Donnelly brothers, decided to keep it in order to use in future Zorro-like hi-jinks directed against
the buffoonish Republicans and their Blackwater blackguards.

:evilgrin: