Were Conceal Carry Permits Traded for Campaign Cash

 

Transcripts from Santa Clara County’s grand jury year-long probe into a possible pay-to-play scheme involving hard-to-get concealed carry weapons permits show many people agreed to pay thousands of dollars to Sheriff Laurie Smith’s political campaign in exchange for the coveted gun permits.

Though she pleaded the Fifth before the grand jury, Sheriff Smith has denied wrongdoing and her political consultant today called the entire probe a “political hatchet job” adding the Sheriff “did nothing wrong.”

Five people including high ranking Sheriff’s Capt. James Jensen and a prominent attorney who worked with Sheriff Smith, were indicted by the grand jury on August 5, 2020, on various bribery and conspiracy to commit bribery charges.

On Monday, Santa Clara County’s District Court released transcripts of the grand jury’s deliberations in the case that date back through the COVID crisis into 2019.

 

For nearly a year, the grand jury investigated the alleged scheme to “buy” concealed weapons permits by prominent members of the community and, in fact, according to the testimony by some people who didn’t even live in the County, in exchange for contributions to Sheriff Laurie Smith’s re-election campaign.

According to the transcript, testimony by Martin Nielsen, the executive project manager at international security firm AS Solutions who wanted concealed carry permits for his employees, pay-offs to the Sheriff’s political campaigns were critical to landing the CCW’s.

According to the transcript, Deputy D.A. Matt Braker asks Nielsen “Do you remember anything in terms of whether or not you ultimately wrote a check to benefit Laurie Smith? Did you ultimately do that?”

Nielsen responds, “Yeah, I mean, I ultimately wrote a check for $45,000.”

Then there’s Nielsen’s boss, AS Solution’s CEO Christian West, who resides in Seattle, Washington, and who, on Monday, pleaded guilty to reduced misdemeanor charges in the scheme and is cooperating with investigators.

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