Webb Throws His Aide Under the Bus

I'll bet other aides to Jim Webb will be pretty careful about any bags they carry for the Senator, because if there's something of Webb's in those bags that could cause trouble, the aides will be on their own based on his bizarre performance yesterday in regards to the gun that an aide mistakenly carried into the Capitol:

The complaint laid out Thompson's version of events: "The defendant stated that he was in possession of a pistol and two magazines belonging to Senator Jim Webb. The defendant further stated that he inadvertently left the gun that he was safekeeping from the previous days." Webb may be pleased to know that, according to the complaint, "the weapon was test fired and is operable."

And how does Webb feel about the whole thing? Hard to say. Gardiner wouldn't say who had retained him to represent Thompson. Webb himself, after calling the news conference to discuss the matter, then said he couldn't talk about it. ...

The senator was less forthcoming in his defense of Thompson. "He is going to be arraigned today," Webb said. "I do not in any way want to prejudice his case and the situation that he's involved in."

Prejudice the case? But wasn't it Webb's gun that his aide was carrying for him?

Webb wouldn't even acknowledge it was his gun. "I have never carried a gun in the Capitol complex, and I did not give the weapon to Phillip Thompson," he stipulated.

Webb had kind words for his aide -- "a longtime friend" and "a fine individual" -- but he seemed to be trying to cut Thompson loose as he spoke of the incident. "I find that what has happened with Phillip Thompson is enormously unfortunate," Webb reported. "I was in New Orleans from last Friday until yesterday evening. I was not in town. I learned about this when I was in New Orleans."

During Webb's press conference he made a big deal about his own need for personal protection, even complaining that Senators don't get the kind of Secret Service protection that the president does. Webb was adamant about his own right to carry a weapon, but never mentioned the ridiculously strict gun laws in D.C. or the fact that D.C. residents have no right whatsoever to carry a weapon for self-protection. That may soon change once the courts finish striking down the D.C. laws.

However, the whole performance smacked of a guy whose one and only concern in life is for himself. His seeming disregard for the aide who now finds himself in legal jeapardy because of Webb's gun was more than a little disturbing.