Posted on 03/31/2006 8:54:36 AM PST by MikeA
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Capitol Hill police plan to issue an arrest warrant today for Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.).
The warrant is related to the incident Wednesday when McKinney allegedly slapped a Capitol Hill police officer.
Charges could range from assault on a police officer, which is a felony carrying a possible five year prison term, to simple assault, which is a misdeamenor.
McKinney has canceled a news conference that she had scheduled for this morning to discuss the incident.
McKinney issued a statement yesterday saying she "deeply regrets" the confrontation with the police officer.
The six-term congresswoman apparently struck a Capitol Police officer when he tried to stop her from entering a House office building without going through a metal detector. Members of Congress wear identifying lapel pins and routinely are waved into buildings without undergoing security checks. The officer apparently did not recognize McKinney, she said in a statement.
Asked on-camera Thursday by Channel 2 Action News whether she intended to apologize, McKinney refused to comment.
"I know that Capitol Hill Police are securing our safety, and I appreciate the work that they do. I have demonstrated my support for them in the past and I continue to support them now," she said in the statement on her Web site.
Democrats and Republicans, meanwhile, engaged in a rhetorical scuffle over the incident.
Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday labeled it "a mistake, an unfortunate lack of recognition of a member of Congress." She added that the police officer was not at fault.
"I would not make a big deal of this," said Pelosi, D-Calif.
Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., responded: "How many officers would have to be punched before it becomes a big deal?"
The dustup is the latest in a series of tangles for the roughly 1,200-officer Capitol Police department.
The department faces a difficult task -- protecting 535 members of Congress and the vast Capitol complex in an atmosphere thick with politics and privilege.
The safety of its members became a sensitive issue after a gunman in 1998 killed two officers outside the office of then-Republican Whip Tom DeLay of Texas.
More recently, police obeyed an order by an angry House Ways and Means Committee chairman, Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Calif., to remove Democrats from a hearing room. Thomas later tearfully apologized on the House floor.
This year, during President Bush's State of the Union address, police drew criticism for first kicking antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan out of the House gallery, and then for evicting the wife of Rep. Bill Young, R-Fla.
Merle Black, a professor of politics at Emory University, says that while the scuffle was rare for an elected politician, it's unlikely to cost McKinney more than a few votes. Black says McKinney is in damage control -- cutting her losses by not insisting on right or wrong.
She shored up the felon vote.
Let her stay in power. If she becomes the poster child for the congressional RATS, we expand our majority.
For your viewing pleasure: Her news conference has been re-scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Atlanta time) and she's bringing actor Danny Glover with her. www.11Alive.com will carry the news conference live!!
Georgia Congresswoman Faces Arrest for Scuffle
WXIA/Associated Press
ATLANTA, GA -- Georgia Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney delayed a scheduled news conference Friday morning as U.S. Capitol police reportedly made plans to seek an arrest warrant against her for striking a police officer.
McKinney's office says the news conference is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. They say that actor Danny Glover will also be present at the news conference to be held on Howard University's campus in northwest Washington. 11Alive.com will carry the news conference live.
McKinney, a Democrat, represents Atlanta suburbs that make up one of Georgia's two black-majority districts. She planned to hold a news conference with her lawyer on Friday at 11 a.m., but an aide in her office said a new time and date for the news conference were being arranged.
The six-term congresswoman is said to have hit a Capitol Police officer in the chest earlier this week when he stopped her from entering the building without going through a metal detector. McKinney said she was not wearing a lapel pin identifying her as a House member, but that she did display her Congressional identification badge.
The charges, if they are filed against her, could include felony assault on a police officer or simple assault, which is a misdemeanor. Before police can make an arrest, the U.S. Attorney's office has to approve the warrant and then notify the U.S. Justice Department because the warrant involves a sitting member of Congress.
U.S. Capitol Police said there is surveillance video of the confrontation between the officer and McKinney, but they say the video will not be released. McKinney released a statement saying she deeply regrets the incident, but was rushing to a meeting when the officer failed to recognize her. "Unfortunately, the Police Officer did not recognize me as a Member of Congress and a confrontation ensued," the statement read.
McKinney said that government security officers often fail to recognize her and treat her like a criminal suspect. Her staff members are defending her by distributing a clip of her from the new film "American Blackout." As McKinney shows the filmmaker around the capitol grounds, a security officer fails to recognize her at first and stops her.
"That's just typical of the type of treatment I receive. It's typical. So, I'm not surprised and I'm not offended," McKinney said in the film. "Okay. Thank you. Some things never change."
The incident has become the topic of much-heated debate on talk radio and for Democrats and Republicans on the Hill. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi on Thursday labeled it "a mistake, an unfortunate lack of recognition of a member of Congress." She added that the police officer was not at fault. "I would not make a big deal of this," said Pelosi, D-Calif.
Ron Bonjean, spokesman for House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., responded: "How many officers would have to be punched before it becomes a big deal?"
Posted 3/31/2006 4:12 PM Updated 3/31/2006 4:49 PMLawyer says McKinney a victim in scuffle
WASHINGTON (AP) — A lawyer for Rep. Cynthia McKinney, the Georgia congresswoman who had an altercation with a Capitol Police officer, says she was "just a victim of being in Congress while black."Her lawyer, James W. Myart Jr., said, "Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, like thousands of average Americans across this country, is, too, a victim of the excessive use of force by law enforcement officials because of how she looks and the color of her skin."
Presser at 5:30. And she's bringing reinforcements. Snort. Sounds like a geniune apology won't be on offer.
Since Pelosi stated McKinney's actions were no big deal, I'm surprised Pelosi won't be there to support her colleague.
Seems like it doesn't it?
While it appears they hold the (legal) upper hand in this situation, if there is no display of contrition, a reprimand from the House of Reps is in order, at least, if not outright censure.
The Hill had two officers shot and killed back in '98. You'd think McKinney would remember that.
ROFL!
"McKinney issued a statement yesterday saying she "deeply regrets" the confrontation with the police officer. "
BRAVO SIERRA! She deeply regrets getting caught!
Elephants never forget.
Jackasses, they let their lawyers do the talking.
Can we sic bounty hunters on her?
Throw her in the 'slam' where she belongs.
Appear's it's going to be live on FNC....
OMG!!! I don't know if I can watch this.....
I watch it via FR. Otherwise I might need a new goggle box :(
I can't bring myself to start it though....
LOL, good. Just making it worse on herself...I was worried she might actually wise up and extricate herself from this. I should never have worried that a nitwit would ever see sense.
For your viewing pleasure: Her news conference has been re-scheduled for 5:30 p.m. (Atlanta time) and she's bringing actor Danny Glover with her.
She's playing the race card again. Said that many members of the Congressional Black Caucus have had trouble in the past with the Capitol Hill police and some members of the Hispanic Caucus. She and her lawyer are trying to spin this every way we predicted. Watching this is a waste of time.
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