CBS Straw Purchase

For John, BLUF:  It is OK because she is a trained Reporter.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Store Owner: Undercover CBS Purchase of AR-15 Broke Federal Law

The sub-headline is "ATF, Virginia State Police contacted over ‘straw purchase’", because straw purchases are illegal, a crime, something the appropriate police should investigate and the appropriate prosecutor should prosecute.  It appears the Reporter lied to the dealer.  Which makes it like the late Mr Mateen.

This Free Beacon article is by Reporter Stephen Gutowski, this morning.  Here is the lede plus several.

The gun store where a CBS News employee purchased a gun for a segment that aired Thursday on “CBS This Morning” has filed a report with the Virginia State Police and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives over concerns the purchase was unlawful.

The store, SpecDive Tactical in Alexandria, Virginia, said that when CBS News’ Paula Reid purchased the rifle she told the store’s general manager the gun was for her own use.  However, when CBS reported on the story they revealed the gun was purchased for the story and transferred to a third party a few hours later.  “The rifle we purchased was legally transferred to a federally licensed firearms dealer and weapons instructor in Virginia, just hours after we bought it,” the report said.

The store said they contacted the ATF after viewing the report because they feared the misdirection used by the CBS reporter constituted a straw purchase, which would be a federal crime.

“Ms. Paula Reid came into the shop with cash, claiming she wished to purchase an AR-15 to, ‘undergo training,’” Ryan Lamke, SpecDive’s general manager, told the Washington Free Beacon.  “She refused basic, free instruction of firearms safety under the pretense that she was using the firearm for training with a NRA certified instructor.”

“Due to the information provided in the CBS News report filed today, I suspect Ms. Reid committed a straw purchase and procurement of a firearm under false pretenses.”

Hat tip to Memeorandum.

Regards  —  Cliff