Triggerfinger

Did Feinstein pull a David Gregory?

Short answer: Yes, except that the police gave permission and actually claimed to be in possession of the weapons used in her presentation.

Brian Weiss, a spokesman for Mrs. Feinstein, told The Washington Times, that, "The weapons were under Washington MPD possession the entire time." He said that the office "coordinated with the department" and the U.S. Capitol Police.

A spokesman for the Capitol Police, Officer Shennell S. Antrobus, responded two hours later that his department "helped the transfer within the building" of the firearms, which were then "in possession of law enforcement there." He would not say what agency was overseeing the contraband weapons, nor who authorized breaking the city's assault weapons ban. It is unclear if any law enforcement agency has the power to overturn the city's firearms ordinances on its own.

If the weapons were supposedly in possession of the police at all times, and if Feinstein asked for and received permission to use them in her presentation, isn't that an admission of unprofessional political bias on the part of the police?

Also, it's important to dispose of the Constitutional question here.  The relevant clause reads:

...shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony, and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their attendance at the Session of their Respective Houses, and in going to and from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place.
In DC, possession of any firearm that can fire more than 12 rounds without reloading is considered possession of a machine gunPossession of a "machine gun" so defined is punishable by up to 10 years in prisonA felony is any crime punishable by more than one year in prison.

The Speech and Debate clause does not protect Senator Feinstein in this case.

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