Posted on 03/29/2006 7:38:16 PM PST by mhking
The office of Representative Cynthia McKinney (D-4th Ga.), issued a response on Wednesday evening to reports of her punching a Capitol police officer earlier in the day.
"Earlier today I had an unfortunate confrontation with a Capitol Hill Police Officer. It is traditional protocol that Capitol Hill Police Officers secure 535 Members of Congress, including 100 Senators. It is the expectation of most Members of Congress that Capitol Hill Police officers know who they are. I was urgently trying to get to an important meeting on time to fulfill my obligations to my constituents. Unfortunately, the Police Officer did not recognize me as a Member of Congress and a confrontation ensued. I did not have on my Congressional pin but showed the Police Officer my Congressional ID.
"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, that of thousands of others, and I appreciate the work that they do. I deeply regret that the incident occurred. I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now."
Good!!! I sincerely hope he sticks with it. Soooo glad it's on tape. Sure hope that tape is in a safe place...know what I mean?
"Did they arrest her?"
"Check out The Constitution of the United States, Article 1, Section 6(1). Dunno if hitting a Capital Guard meets the criteria. Anyone?"
The cops should've shown her what a nightstick is for!
OTOH, maybe we should send her!
I'll see your bet and raise you - she is an arrogant, ignorant, racist b**ch!
McKinney is a Pinko commie piece of Trash.
That is my opinion from her own words and deeds. Also, a racist whose primary financial backers don't live in Georgia and have Arabic names.
What Cynthia meant: ...keeping you little people away from me.
What Cynthia said: I deeply regret that the incident occurred.
What Cynthia meant: But if the officer had just recognized me, as he should, and waved me through knowing who important I am, I wouldn't have to have hit him. He brought it on himself, and let that be a lesson to all of you all.
What Cynthia said: I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now."
What Cynthia meant: And I will continue to support all of you who treat us important people like the royalty we are.
She's quite a woman.
"I found a site, that states that assault on a police officer is a felony in DC. "
He is a police officer, according to the first sentence of this article. I thought they were related to the Secret Service, but I'm probably wrong on that assumption.
He's a Capitol police office. I don't think it's the same thing as a D.C. police officer, and I have no idea whether the DC law making it a felony to assault a police officer applies only to DC cops or also to Capitol cops.
Regardless, I think she could be arrested for misdemeanor breach of the peace.
What do you mean? Cynthia McKinney IS special!
Bummer.
I don't think I'd support her for that office, but if I were living in McKinney's district, I'd gladly cross over in the primary and vote for her there.
The police officer could press charges of assault, but could not have arrested her on the spot because the Capitol Police serve at the behest of Congress. That is why, under our system of government, we have a separate police agency for Congress. Vicomte13 explained it perfectly like this:
"The Capitol police serve at the behest of CONGRESS. CONGRESS puts them there. Congress can remove them from there. There is no power in the United States that can put ANY police in the Capitol against the will of Congress, not even for national security purposes. And that's not a LITTLE thing. America has no praetorian guard that does not answer to the Congress as the supreme political authority. The Capitol police, in particular, are there because Congress puts them there. Congress does not answer to them. They answer to Congress. If you think about it for a minute, Civics 101, you will see why that MUST be so. Because if it isn't, then who, precisely, commands the men who have the only guns in the Capitol building of the United States? Who commands the only men with guns who stand guard over, and allow access in and out of, the lawmakers of the United States? If the answer to that is anybody but the lawmakers themselves, there is a peril to the independence of Congress. There's nothing theoretical about that either. Three lessons from history: the historical praetorian guard itself, the English use of the constabulary in Queen Elizabeth's reign to selectively arrest members of Parliament on their arrival at Parliament, so as to prevent their voting on closely contested measures favored by the royal party, and of course Abraham Lincoln's use of the armed forces to forcibly arrest the legislature of the State of Maryland, in the Maryland state capitol building itself, to prevent them from voting to secede from the Union. Whoever controls the men with the guns who guard Congress ULTIMATELY can exert control over Congress. And that is why the Capitol police ARE in fact, servants of Congress, and nobody but Congress, and why they must answer to Congress, and why they have, and can have, no authority whatever over Congress. Any armed man in the US Capitol must be a servant of the Congress that sits there. Congress serves the people. The Capitol police have to serve Congress, and nobody else, to keep Congress from serving whoever controls the Capitol police from controlling Congress. Granted, that's not Civics 101, but Civics and Political History 401, but it's not a little thing. That's how every republic in history has fallen: to its armed guardians. Capitol police are the creatures of Congress. They have to be if you want to stay free.
Very interesting. But if DC law says that it's a felony to assault a police officer, and the term "police officer" includes not only DC police, but police from other states and the Capitol police, then McKinney can be charged with a felony whether or not the Capitol policeman presses charges. The Capitol policeman may be beholden to Congress, but the eyewitnesses who would testify as to the assault are not so restrained. Besides, even if you are employed by a company, that does not mean that you can't charge a director with assault if she strikes you in the chest.
And while it is true that Congress hires the Capitol policemen, and can remove them if it wishes, Cynthia McKinney ain't Congress. She is one of 435 members of the House of Representatives, and the Capitol police do not serve at *her* will, but at the collective will of the House and Senate. The Executive Branch may not be able to hire or fire the Capitol police, but neither can Cynthia McKinney by herself. And to the extent that she committed a felony or a breach of the peace, she is *not* privileged from arrest even if the House is in session, and even if her crime was committed within the Capitol.
Of course, a member of Congress cannot be charged with a crime for any "speech or debate" within Congress, and such phrase may be interpreted to apply to all legislative duties, including drafting bills, meeting with constituents, etc. But striking a police officer in the chest is *not* a legislative duty, so McKinney is not immune from prosecution for that action.
She was probably on her way to a nail appointment or something like that. I can't imagine her actually working for her constituants. LOL
Everyone needs to watch the repeat of Brit's show tonight...it seems Cindy has a long history of slapping LEOs.....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.