McCain Adviser Arrested Once For Gun Violation On Capitol Hill

John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser, Randy Scheunemann, is known for his aggressive posture on foreign policy, having served as an architect of the Iraq war and, more recently, a fierce supporter of and lobbyist for the former Soviet nation of Georgia.

But apparently he takes the notion of cowboy diplomacy to a new level. A Democratic source tipped off the Huffington Post that back in 1997, when he was serving as a top adviser to Sen. Trent Lott, Scheunemann was arrested by Capitol Hill police for a gun violation.

According to a Washington Times article from February 1997, Scheunemann was spotted by a police unit with a shotgun case through the window of his car. They stopped him to ask if the case contained an actual gun. It did. Moreover, Scheunemann had several rounds of ammunition as well.

"The congressional aide was arrested, taken to police headquarters, fingerprinted and charged with possession of an unregistered firearm (an unloaded 12-gauge) and unregistered ammunition (two rounds)," the story went. Scheunemann, who would spend several hours in jail before his release, would eventually plead guilty to a lesser charge and pay a $500 fine.

The McCain campaign declined to comment.

The episode should have scant political relevance today considering that, among other things, Scheunemann went on to lobby for the NRA, is of a political party that stridently defends gun ownership, and that other Senate hands -- notably, an aide to Democrat Jim Webb -- have also been arrested for illegally bringing firearms onto congressional property.

Indeed, as TPM's Josh Marshall has been hammering home for weeks, of far greater controversy is the role Scheunemann played in "lobbying, plotting and organizing campaigns of deception that led America to war in Iraq."

Nevertheless, for a guy who will have a huge hand in crafting foreign policy should McCain win the White House, a past firearm arrest, no matter how long ago, counts as news.

Comments

[donkat]

More scum, working for scum. Is anyone surprised? Doubt it.

[obamagirl1968]

Its funny how the Repugs raise doubts about Obama's associations in his personal life but it seems that there are FAR more questions about McCain's associations in his political life, the only lilfe that matters. The MSM needs to get their thumbs out and whack this guy for his fast and loose connections to some of the shadiest and most unscrupulous characters ever to grace K Street.

[KQuarksSuperKollider]

Being surrounded by lobbyists is far more insidious that any of 0bama's so called association problems. These same lobbyists will be in charge of many important agencies in a McBush administrations. Instead of working for the people like they are supposed to do they will be working for their former clients that paid them to get them where they are. That's why we see the disastrous deregulation in the financial markets and the mining industry under Rethuglicans.

[loax]

This jerk will work for anybody as long as it ines his pockets. Do we really want these extremist to win?

[karela]

Geesh, I live in small town mid west where hunting and guns are a part of life, but you don't carry a shot gun and shells on the back seat of your car! There's nothing to hunt on capitol hill except humans for a hundred miles around. This is not at all the same thing as having a hidden hand gun because you fear for your safety in a major city. If the guy was going hunting after work, he would have put the shot gun in the trunk for safey, for legal reasons and because he wouldn't want it stolen. The fact that he was carrying it within reach of the driver's seat along with live rounds of ammunition is pause for thought. Either he's a bit scary or else he is too ignorant about gun safety to be allowed away from his mama.

[wm1066]

You got that right!
I also grew up in a rural town in the midwest and had gun safety class when I was 12 by the VFW, and you just don't drive into the Big City with a shotgun in plain site. Something is wrong with him.

[geobushono]

hubris

[marthlois]

Well that's rich. Tables turned? Can you imagine?
I must say that I feel like I'm in a bubble reading all of these stories here
at Huffington Post as I rarely ever see such stories covered anywhere.
So I count on Keith, Rachel, Big Eddi, Randi Rhodes - and of course a lot
of the fine bloggers here and elsewhere. And the "O" site of course.

[SMP]

Huffpo gives us the truth...ev­en if sometimes we dont like it........­..........­.......as an older 1st time voter, kuddos to Huffington Post...wit­hout you I could not spread the truth here in PA.......k­eep up the excellent work!!!!

[harriscrl3]

Not surprise Rethuglicans are all THUGS from the highest office to the lowest and all others in between.

Carol

[SeanHannity4Obama]

Mcempty lacks judgment to have cowboys run his campaign

[Concerned1]

Not surprised. They are all crooks and thugs.

[DaOne]

another loose cannon

[BPCentrisAmerican]

McCain is using Scheunemann a former paid lobbyist for Georgia as a senior foreign policy advisior. Registered lobbyist for foreign governments are considered second stringers in foreign policy circles. I find this more problematic, since McCain is trying to convince me of his experience in this area.

[BlueOnBlue]

You only have one thing wrong. McCain isn't using Scheunemann. Scheunemann has been using McCain to sell his neocon philosophy all the way back to the 90s.

McCain doesn't have the mental capacity to come up with this stuff. Scheunemann, William Kristol, Joe Liebermann and the other former members of the Committee for the Liberation of Iraq are the brains. McCain is just the puppet.

[SMP]

Been calling McCain a GOP PUPPET from the very beginning

[CTmom13]

this should e news

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article4535173.ece

Cheney is helping McCain and over 2000 had died because of it

[firewmn]

the arrogance of lobbyists is to the detriment of America.

[BlueOnBlue]

I'm not worried about the shotgun. I'm worried that we'll never find the smoking gun which set off Cold War II, which is what Scheunemann and McCain have in mind with their Georgia meddling.

Why isn't the MSM coming down on that story? For that matter, why isn't this site?

[ynot4tony2]

Why isn't the MSM coming down on that story? Becuase they are just liberal...­not a bunch of tin-foil hat wearing kooks who believe ANYTHING that supports their views (except maybe Dan Rather).

Next thing you know, you'll be ignoring the assesments of the entire British intelligence about Saddam trying to purchase yellowcake, only to believe a single source in the British intelligence with a photocopied, hand-written (in his own handwriting) document about how Bush wanted to invade Iraq before 9-11.

Ouch! That one hit too close for comfort, didn't it?

[karela]

McCain, my friend, has been talking, on the record, about attacking Iraq and Iran since 1998. He toted Chalabi around Washington for 18 years introducing him to key members of government and trying to get money for him. We went to war with Iraq based mainly on two things: 1) Information gained by torture that proved to be false and was reneged on as soon as they quit hurting the guy. 2) Secret information from Chalabi that proved to be false. The U.S. government paid Chalabi $349,000/month of our money to give us this kind of information while Chalabi was simultaneously feeding top secret information to Iran. That McCain, he sure can pick 'em. McCain has judgment, but it's all bad. Obama has proven right about everything he said in 2002 regarding the effects of a preemptive war with Iraq. Obama has a prerequisite to be president that McCain will never have: good judgment and an ability to see the likely outcome of current events as they unfold into the future. If we had listened instead of following the Bush/McCain little red war wagon, we would have captured Bin Laden in Afghanistan when he was there and we'd be richer by a trillion dollars and over 4,000 American lives.

[Ramirez]

Outstanding investigative journalism. It's good to see someone doing the job the MSM won't do.

Who knows what he was planning to do with that shotgun...

[jabbo]

My thoughts exactly Ramirez! Another incredible example of how the conservative MSM is trying to pave the way for a Republican victory in November! No way am I voting for McCain now!!!

[Ramirez]

Shotguns have no place in a polite and hopeful society.

[kellygrrrl]

should be news, yes.
won't be news, obviously.