As noted in an earlier post, an email has surfaced purporting to be from the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department stating that NBC requested permission to use a high capacity ammunication magazine and that the request was denied.
The email first appeared on the AR15 gun forum, and then at the The Patriot Perspective blog which first broke the Gregory story.
Here is the email, with the addressee’s identity removed:
“From: “DC Police (imailagent)” <[email protected]>
Subject: Email from DC Police (Intranet Quorum IMA00519327)
Date: December 24, 2012 4:13:12 PM EST
To: –The Metropolitan Police Department is in receipt of your e-mail regarding David Gregory segment on “Meet the Press.” MPD has received numerous e-mails informing us of the segment. NBC contacted MPD inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for their segment. NBC was informed that possession of a high capacity magazines is not permissible and their request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated. Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention.
Customer Service – Metropolitan Police Department”
Fearing the email was a hoax, I was cautious about running the text of the email. But as earlier reported, a confidential source who works for D.C. government verified that the email was in a format used by the MPD:
“… the Metropolitan Police Department email reply you received is genuine. DC Government uses “Intranet Quorum” software designed by Lockheed to manage general inquires. The email address and the subject line of the email you received are consistent with that software.”
Now I have received confirmation that the e-mail is authentic.
(added) For much of the day yesterday and last night I sought confirmation from the D.C. Police. After numerous emails exchanged last night and conversations this morning, I finally was able to receive the authentication needed, as well as confirmation of the request by NBC and denial by the MPD.
I forwarded the text of the email, exactly as it appears above, to Gwendolyn Crump, Director, Office of Communications for the MPD, with the following question:
Can you confirm that is a real email sent from your system. I am informed that the email format is consistent with the Intranet Quorum format you use. Putting aside the substance of the investigation, I just want confirmation that it is a genuine email sent from your system.
I would appreciate your response on that specific question. Thank you.
Ms. Crump responded:
“Yes. I can confirm that what you sent appears to be the IQ system message.”
I further followed up to make sure that the email was an actual email sent by MPD, not just that it “appeared” to be one, and Ms. Crump confirmed:
“Yes, that email was sent from MPD.“
Officer Aziz Alali of the MPD Public Information Office further confirmed the authenticity of the e-mail, and gave me this statement by telephone:
“NBC contacted the Metropolitan Police Department inquiring if they could utilize a high capacity magazine for this segment. NBC was informed that that possession of a high capacity magazine is not permissible and the request was denied. This matter is currently being investigated and I cannot get into any further specifics on this investigation.”
NBC News has not responded to multiple inquiries as to the request and denial, or whether the magazine was real or just a prop. During the segment in question, Gregory stated “here is a magazine for ammunition that carries 30 bullets.”
If it turns out the magazine was in violation of D.C. law, the fact that NBC News was warned by the D.C. Police not to use the magazine puts a whole new light on the incident, turning it into an intentional violation of the law. While the law does not require intent, the existence of intent could influence a decision whether or not to prosecute.
Update: Thanks to all the blogs and websites who linked here and properly credited us with getting the D.C. Police to confirm this story, including but not limited to, Instapundit, Huffington Post (!), Hot Air, The Daily Caller, Breitbart.com, and more … Newsbusters.
As to this, well, at least there’s some emotional satisfaction:
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Comments
way too many sycophants are excusing his actions saying his intent was not to harm anyone.
which does not matter.
he was on tv, recorded for all to see, in front of dozens of viewers purposely violating the law.
In the law, we call it a mens rea…or guilty mind…
This gets uglier and uglier…
But, remember…”It’s different when we do it”…
Since in DC(like it is in NY) a crime of strict liability,no mens rea is needed; he can 1A all he likes, but it’s not a defense in any manner, shape, or form.
Couldn’t happen to a nicer turd, if you ask me.
Correct, on all counts. The mens rea thing is a factor in prosecution and sentencing, though, I would think.
(Bowing to your criminal law expertise, of course.)
In NY there aren’t.
Let’s not forget what happened to this poor young woman from Tennessee, who visited the 9/11 memorial in NYC, saw the “no guns” sign, and tried to check her pistol. Oops. Off to the pokey she went.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/pistol_whipped_at_wtc_1x32hgT52UNhxkP36ZYAgJ
is that perhaps why some are saying he should attack the law itself on constitutional grounds?
Not really. There are lots of “strict liability” laws and regulations on the books. The one we most often think of is statutory rape. It does not matter what you thought, how old she (or he) looked, etc. If you went there, you are done.
With a very few exceptions (statutory rape being one) I deplore strict liability laws. They essentially become traps for the unwary (i.e., otherwise totally law-abiding people who are completely unaware of the freaking law).
I have not read anyone making an argument on the Constitution supporting Gregory. Partly because I am basking in the schadenfreude.
[…] Update 4: Legal Insurrection verifies with DC police. […]
How does freedom of the press factor in, if at all?
Not at all. The press is free to speak…or express. It is not otherwise free to ignore the law. Which is why they can’t put a wire-tap on your phone.
well….Musket Morgan can and will 🙂
No, the press is not free to speak, or to do anything. A press is an inanimate object, just like a gun, and has no rights. “Gun rights” are not rights of guns, they’re rights of people to have guns. And “the freedom of the press” is not a right belonging to presses, it’s the right of people to freely have and use presses.
I know you know this, but the way you expressed yourself could easily be misunderstood by someone who doesn’t.
To wte9, the correct answer is that David Gregory has the freedom of the press, just as we all do, and he can’t be prosecuted for broadcasting his “crime” of possessing that magazine, and nobody’s suggesting that he should be. What people are saying he should be prosecuted for is the crime itself. If you carry a webcam while you rob a bank, your undoubted right to do so doesn’t get you off the bank robbery charge; it just prevents the government from slapping on an extra charge for the webcast.
They were free to film the segment in a jurisdiction where the mag was perfectly legal. They chose not to.
Look at the deference Gregory (and his guests, including “conservatives” like David Brooks and Peggy Noonan) showed to Al Sharpton in this transcript nearly two years ago. I’ve been waiting for Gregory to get his comeuppance since then.
Howie Kurtz has already determined this is a waste of time. MSM scofflaws are OK with Howie, if they are on the side of limiting the 2nd amendment. An “objective journalist” breaking one of the very laws he supports by possessing an illegal magazine in a real-time criminal act that was broadcast on live TV…is “a waste of time”.
Kurtz would also like you to know that passing more laws like the one Gregory broke is NOT a waste of time, however.
Molon Labe
David Gregory and the entire NBC news team is no match for you! Peel back that onion to the rotten core Professor. This is going to be fun reminding them that the rules don’t only apply to the little people. Heh…..
If David Gregory escapes the applicable penalty for his crime, doesn’t every other person who has run afoul of D.C. gun laws have an Equal Protection claim against D.C.?
The conspiracy and the underlying crime cannot be said to be inadvertent. It was a willful and defiant disregard for the law, by a cabal of criminals. NBC ought to be prosecuted under RICO. They are an organized crime entity.
What will happen? Gregory will get a $50 fine and an admonishment to be more careful next time.
The Enemy protects their own.
Not only that, but it was done for commercial purposes (ratings, marketing their excit
inged TV).[…] DC Police confirm email denying NBC use of a magazine. Legal Insurrection talked to DC police and confirmed. […]
To paraphrase Joyce Carol Oates: If sizable numbers of journalists become gun law victims themselves, maybe there’s hope for some balanced coverage on the issue.
I don’t expect real justice in this case. But we should publicize the outcome loud and clear to show the hypocracy to the whole world. Make the MSM and the politicians squirm at every opportunity!
Give Professor Jacobson his own news segment on network or cable news, and a budget.
Because with zero budget, he already is a better investigative reporter than the entire legacy media combined.
Imagine if he had his own show.
What a GREAT idea.
How about it Prof. Jacobson? — a YouTube channel.
Having heard the good professor on a couple of talk shows I can heartily second this notion. He is always calm, he is never confusing and, most importantly, nothing throws him off. He can be relentless. What I wouldn’t give to hear more from him.
Loophole:
Mr. Gregory was acting in good faith that his production staff had made the appropriate communications with the police department. He displayed a piece of NBC News property as part of a news piece. NBC News lawyers and the police department are coordinating the disposition of this property. Mr. Gregory is not responsible for the administration of NBC News property.
I didn’t know that punch was spiked when I drank it right before I mowed down the nuns.
my lawyers and staff told me it was normal punch.
And the whole thing gets buried in litigation.
possibly.
isn’t he also listed as a producer of his show though?
I cannot remember, but if so its another nail.
Oh, good point! He might be.
He’ll claim anti-Semitism in defense.
Awesome. Let’s hope it cost a lot and the whole law gets tossed out.
Best outcome all around.
I’m guessing he’ll cop to a plea bargain and pay the fine ($1000 max) and somehow spin that away.
This is well put and in full congruity with the point of view from the traitors on the left – it is not the person that broke the law that should be punished for the exercise of his free will in violation of the law, but rather the fault lies in the inanimate object.
Therefore, for the protection of all (except for the highly distilled few that obviously need protection from the very threats that they project upon their opponents) the government must confiscate all of the inanimate objects.
Always remember that this entire kabuki theatre has nothing to do with a classroom full of dead children in Connecticut. This is the Emmanuel Doctrine in full-court press – “Never let a crisis go to waste”.
Or in a different context, “I swear, I thought she was nineteen Officer.” Strict liability don’t give a damn what you think.
Unless you’re a left wing “journalist” working inside the Beltway…
The segment showed Mr. Gregory holding the object in question. Where is the evidence that NBC News Properties had anything to do with that prop? What did he do with it after the show? Why haven’t the police collected a search warrant and found that magazine?
Is it wrong of me to be enjoying so much Schadenfreude this Christmas season? I love the application of Alinsky Rule 4: Make the enemy live up to their own book of rules.
if it is wrong then I am enjoying being wrong 🙂
Too much Schadenfreude is never enough.
I wonder just how many staffers at NBC broke the law. Certainly, the one who smuggled the magazine into the district and probably a much greater number of self righteous prigs who could not resist touching or even being photographed posing with the contraband.
We will need a task force to trace the movements of the magazine thru the news room.
Did they smuggle more than one in and only use one in the piece?
Conspiracy?
Is NBC Above the Law? Yes, as we will soon learn.
Prof. J., I recommend you contact the US Attorney for the District of Columbia, since his office handles both federal and municipal prosecutions for D.C. His name is Ronald C. Machen, Jr.
In my own post to this, I explain why we will learn here that NBC News is above the law.
Among other facts:
Gregory will face nothing from the DC Police. The Obama DOJ will step in and clean this up leaving Gregory forever grateful to Holder and Obama. NBC too will be forever grateful that their star and the network won’t be embarrassed by this misconduct.
Obama pockets their gratitude and gets ever more press protection from NBC and Gregory. This is the Chicago Way, the way of gangster government.
David Gregory brought the wrong item to “show and tell.” Off to detention with you Mr. Gregory.
[…] NBC requested and was denied permission to use a high capacity gun clip. Uh […]
Fortunately for NBC News, the model rocket motor they once used to set a GM pickup on fire was NOT against the law.
[…] NBC checked with the DC Metro Police about using the magazine, and they were warned not to use it. Legal Insurrection reports […]
“Give Professor Jacobson his own news segment on network or cable news, and a budget.
Because with zero budget, he already is a better investigative reporter than the entire legacy media combined.
Imagine if he had his own show.”
I’ve already got the music for the segment set up.
[…] says William Jacobson and he’s got the official confirmations to prove it. Yesterday this was a story about how […]
[…] with a high-capacity magazine that can hold 30 rounds. In D.C., owning such an item is illegal. He, apparently, had asked D.C. cops permission to bring the magazine into the city so he could use as a prop on […]
I’m having flashbacks to the ’90’s! You remember the late 1990’s? The Felon-in-Chief got more popular when his approvals went up! He beat the scolds looking to pin him with perjury!
Hell, all of the disclosures about the new Massachusetts Senator did nothing to harm her!
Did Obama suffer from his failures?
GotCha Blvd. is a one-way street!
[…] D.C. Police – NBC requested and was denied permission to use high capacity magazine in news se… (legalinsurrection.com) […]
[…] capacity magazine on “Meet the Press.” Legal Insurrection’s William A. Jacobsonlooked into an email allegedly from the Metropolitan Police Department which said that the network contacted the police […]
[…] to a tie, but based on time stamps, Legal Insurrection’s William Jacobson, at 11:23 a.m., was 22 minutes ahead of local DC TV station WJLA in breaking an important update to the David Gregory magazine clip saga […]
[…] capacity magazine on “Meet the Press.” Legal Insurrection’s William A. Jacobson looked into an email allegedly from the Metropolitan Police Department which said that the network contacted the police […]
[…] It turns out that NBC was denied permission to use the clip by the DC Police and did it […]
ignorantia legis neminem excusat davey. Your attorney wife should have reminded you..
mr.& mrs. davey
Apparently David Gregory is a more equal pig than I am. I can guarantee you that if I were to hold up a high capacity magazine on TV in DC that I would be in jail right now, pending investigation, regardless of my intentions. And Kurtz would be screaming that I deserved jail time.
[…] » D.C. Police — NBC requested and was denied permission to use high capacity magazine in news seg… […]
At this point none of this makes any difference. What is important is that somewhere in D.C. there is a high capacity magazine on the loose.
At any time this magazine might decide to attack innocent people. The police need to assemble their Special Handling Interdiction Team (SHIT) and have them fan out and find this magazine before it can cause any more destruction.
It has already caused David Gregory to commit a felony, just like guns everywhere cause otherwise mild mannered peaceful citizens to attack and kill.
Magazines, especially high capacity magazines, are inherently dangerous and must not be allowed to roam free and endanger people.
Just a suggestion, but I would go after Howard Kurtz for poo-pooing this, just as much as I’d go after NBC and Gregory.
Howard Kurtz:
“I seriously doubt that he’s going to jail. But the D.C. Police Department apparently has nothing better to do than examine whether he violated the city’s gun laws …
… But a police probe over what I assume was an empty ammo clip is a total waste of time. What it demonstrates above all is that journalists are getting ensnared in the political war over gun control.”
—Mr. Kurtz, Let me speak for Professor Jacobson and say he appreciates your concern, but he doesn’t feel “ensnared” at all. In fact, he’s intentionally looking into NBC intentionally flaunting the law.
And let me speak again for Professor Jacobson by saying he is absolutely fine and okay … and he thinks you would be better off concerning yourself with hacks being ensnared.
LukeHandCool (who is only speaking of speaking for the Professor and who doesn’t want his Lukefoolery to end up ensnaring the Professor in anything due to no fault of his own … especially if it ended up ensnaring him in the unbearable company of a bunch of hacks)
[…] capacity magazine on “Meet the Press.” Legal Insurrection’s William A. Jacobsonlooked into an email allegedly from the Metropolitan Police Department which said that the network contacted the police […]
“ the fact that NBC News was warned by the D.C. Police not to use the magazine puts a whole new light on the incident, turning it into an intentional violation of the law.”
Since they sought some exemption, they knew it was illegal. Being denied and warned, they flaunted the law publicly, for money (ratings).
I’d think the D.C. Police would be “offended” that Gregory essentially publicly flipped them off, and rejected their authority.
[…] […]
[…] Legal Insurrection has reported that an email from the Metropolitan Police states that NBC had requested permission to use the ammunition magazine on the show, but was denied: […]
Okay, I just went to yahoo.com to check my email, and this is the number one news story greeting all those with a yahoo email account right now.
It was posted 2 hours and 55 minutes ago.
Ummm … shouldn’t Professor Jacobson be cited in this piece. I mean, come on!
http://news.yahoo.com/dc-cops-investigating-whether-nbcs-gregory-violated-gun-170426968–abc-news-politics.html
[…] up that topic in his next column. In the meantime, as a commenter at Prof. William Jacobson’s Legal Insurrection blog quips, “To paraphrase Joyce Carol Oates: If sizable numbers of journalists become gun law victims […]
[…] […]
TMZ is now reporting that David Gregory got permission via ATF. Any info on that?
http://www.tmz.com/2012/12/26/meet-the-press-david-gregory-dc-police-atf-gun-magazine/
Sounds like a smokescreen.
MPD is on record that NBC contacted MPD for permission and MPD denied them permission. We have confirmed MPD emails to that effect.
Instead TMZ – a day later- gets an anonymous report that some unknown person at NBC called an unknown person at ATF, and that person called somebody unknown at MPD, and MPD supposedly told ATF that NBC could go ahead.
You can’t really track that down; you’re not supposed to be able to. It’s out there so if you’re inclined, you can bleat “ATF was told OK” over and over and over.
Just suppose it’s true; so what? Getting wrong advice from the police, let alone via a third party, doesn’t get you off from a strict-liability crime, any more than getting wrong advice from the IRS doesn’t get you off your tax liability when you follow it to the letter and then get told they were wrong.
Here’s a bit of legal legal-insurrection you can perform.
At the Yahoo News story I linked, there are already over 10,000 comments.
You can reply to comments.
I just replied to 10 commenters who are outraged about NBC’s knowingly unlawful action. In my replies to their comments, I put in a plug for LI. It goes something like this:
“The liberal media thinks it’s above the law and that laws are only for the little people. Cornell Law Professor William Jacobson has been going after Gregory and NBC since yesterday at his blog Legalinsurrection. Check it out.”
Free advertisement (or PSA, depending on how you look at it) for LI.
The original poster gets notifications that someone has posted a reply to their comment.
Good and easy way to spread the word about LI.
[…] this past Sunday. David Gregory and NBC blatantly violated DC gun laws with the magazine, and reportedly even asked and was denied by DC area police if they could use it for their Meet the Press stunt with Gregory. I guess NBC and David Gregory […]
[…] that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department is on record that it told NBC News not to use the high capacity magazine in its segment with Wayne LaPierre, the big media is paying attention […]
This might get some play among the main stream media because I am sure that somewhere along the way David Gregory has stepped on some toes. He is too much of a self serving asshole not to have a few enemies among those with sore toes.
[…] Professor William “Just a Blogger” Jacobson is available to accept your high-fives after he helped lead the citizen-journalist posse that exposed David Gregory’s violation of D.C.’s stringent gun laws. Dylan Byers of Politico has the latest network spin: […]
[…] Legal Insurrection blog was the first to confirm the story that Gregory and NBC had been denied […]
[…] I can think of one good reason why he shouldn’t be. […]
[…] paying attention: “Now that the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department is on record that it told NBC News not to use the high capacity magazine in its segment with Wayne LaPierre, the big media is paying attention […]
[…] » D.C. Police — NBC requested and was denied permission to use high capacity magazine in news seg… […]
[…] by the way, cuts Gregory some slack in assuming the “infraction” was inadvertent. NBC apparently asked DC police for permission to possess the magazine for use in the “story&… (heh), and were denied. Gregory – or at least several people in his editorial chain of […]
All Gregory had to do was remove the spring and follower from the magazine. Then it wouldn’t have been a magazine, just a shell from one.
[…] cannot claim to have made an honest mistake. They asked the DC police for permission and it was denied. The crux of the their defense, as offered by their media defenders, seems to be that it was okay […]
[…] mention of empty or loaded magazines in the above text? At any rate, the folks at NBC apparently also asked the D.C. police for permission, and were denied . . . at which point they ignored the police and proceeded with the display anyway. Being in the […]