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Webb Defends Gun-Toting Aide
WASHINGTON (AP) - Sen. Jim Webb said a senior aide who was arrested after trying to carry a loaded pistol into a Senate office building did so "completely inadvertently." Webb, D-Va., spoke to reporters Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol just before his aide was arraigned in District of Columbia Superior Court on charges of carrying a pistol without a license and carrying an unregistered firearm and unregistered ammunition.Phillip Thompson entered a not guilty plea through his attorney, Richard Gardner, and was released on his own recognizance. Thompson was arrested Monday morning when he entered the Russell Senate office building with a loaded pistol and two other loaded magazines in a briefcase that he placed on an X-ray machine, according to court documents. Thompson told the officer at the building's entrance that the weapon belonged to Webb. D.C. law prohibits people from carrying handguns and concealed weapons without licenses. At a news conference Tuesday, Webb said he was in New Orleans when he learned that his executive assistant had been arrested. He called Thompson "a longtime friend, a fine individual. I have a tremendous amount of respect for him," Webb said. He called the incident "one of those very unfortunate situations" and said Thompson "completely inadvertently took the weapon" into the building. Not just inadvertently, mind you - completely inadvertently. But Webb told reporters he did not give Thompson the gun and refused to confirm or deny whether the gun was his, saying he couldn't comment further because of the pending legal matter. I ain't got nuttin' ta say, coppers!  "I have never carried a gun in the Capitol complex and I did not give the gun to Phillip Thompson," Webb said. He said his staff had been preparing three cars for his trip to New Orleans and that probably contributed to the "inadvertent situation." That's a good excuse. The gun was supposed to go in Car #2. Webb also stressed his support for the Second Amendment, saying he thought the right to carry a gun was important because legislators don't have armed protection like the president and other members of the executive branch. And Lord knows, we need it! "We are required to defend ourselves, and I choose to do so," he said. But I didn't bring the gun, don't own it, and never gave it to my buddy Phillip. Maybe he swiped it? Thompson, a former Marine and former editor at the Army Times Publishing Company, was arrested on his 45th birthday, according to court documents. He spent the night in the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department's central cell block. Happy Birthday, Phil! Thompson said nothing outside the court to reporters. His attorney also had no comment. Thompson is due back in court May 1. Posted by: Bobby 2007-03-28 |
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