It's Official: As Long as You're a White Liberal, DC Authorities Will Look the Other Way
In a letter from DC Attorney General Irvin B. Nathan to the attorney for NBC and David Gregory, the DC Attorney General asserts that Gregory flagrantly broke the law, but that the office of the Attorney General won't be prosecuting him for his obvious crime. But all you who believe in equality before the law, never fear. Listen to the sternly worded lecture preceding the anti-climactic announcement that Gregory will face no consequences because he was helping to further the President's anti-gun agenda (emphasis mine):
The larger of the two ammunition feeding devices in question here meets the definition under the statute. OAG has responsibility for prosecuting such offenses and takes that responsibility very seriously. We have a history of aggressively prosecuting violations of this statute where the circumstances warrant. There is no doubt of the gravity ofthe illegal conduct in this matter, especially in a city and a nation that have been plagued by carnage from gun violence. Of course, the recent tragic, heart-breaking events, particularly at Sandy Hook elementary school in Newtown, Connecticut, which appear to have led to the program in question, also underscore our belief in the vigorous enforcement of such laws.
Why, this sounds pretty ominous for Mr. Gregory, doesn't it. Surely they're about to drop the hammer and throw the book at him for his flagrant violation of DC law? Or not:
Having carefully reviewed all of the facts and circumstances of this matter, as it does in every case involving firearms-related offenses or any other potential violation of D.C. law within our criminal jurisdiction, OAG has determined to exercise its prosecutorial discretion to decline to bring criminal charges against Mr. Gregory, who has no criminal record, or any other NBC employee based on the events associated with the December 23,2012 broadcast.
So let me get this straight, Metro PD knows Gregory broke the law. The AG knows Gregory broke the law. It is even revealed in the next paragraph that "the magazine in question, with NBC's assistance, has been surrendered to MPD," so they know it wasn't a prop. Despite Gregory and NBC's failure to offer a public apology for his transgression, the evidence of which, combined with the readily available recordings of Gregory's disgusting performance, ought to have this case closed and Gregory in a cell by sundown, is all going to be completely ignored because Gregory shares the "right view" on gun control. Well isn't that just fantastic. I'm curious, where was the prosecutor's discretion when the defendant was James Brinkley, an African-American man and US Marshal candidate who was charged with violating the DC magazine ban despite the clear evidence he had violated no law? In that case, not only was he publicly humiliated, but even after his acquittal, the DC Attorney General and Secret Service refused to apologize and continued to defend his arrest and prosecution. At least now we know the standard. If you're a prominent liberal, and you share the same political views as the DC Attorney General, you are exempt from the law. Unless you've got a bizarre phobia of sternly worded letters, you can do whatever you want. Were I one of the more than 105 arrested last year for violating this idiotic ban, I'd have my lawyer immediately prepare an appeal based on the Second Amendment and the Equal Protection clause of the Fourteenth.
