Apointed by Ashcroft?
Posted on 06/04/2006 10:59:35 PM PDT by Utah Girl
The grand jury investigation of 4th District Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney enters its third month today with no hint from the federal prosecutor about how much longer it will take to settle a case that legal experts said should have been wrapped up in a matter of days.
McKinney was accused of striking a Capitol Hill police officer March 29, and the case was referred to the grand jury April 5. The drawn-out process of deciding whether she should be charged with assault has police fuming that the DeKalb County Democrat is getting preferential treatment from a politically motivated prosecutor.
"Right from the start this U.S. attorney has handled this case differently from every other case," said Chuck Canterbury, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police. "And it's because she is a sitting congresswoman."
McKinney's office and the office of U.S. Attorney Ken Wainstein declined to comment.
The case comes at a time of heightened tensions in Washington. A series of arrests, indictments and criminal investigations involving at least five members of Congress have fueled disputes between Capitol police and Congress and between Capitol Hill and the Justice Department.
Republicans and Democrats alike furiously denounced a recent FBI raid on the office of Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.) as a violation of the constitutional separation of powers.
And Capitol police, already angry over McKinney's case, bristled when superiors ordered them last month to drive Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) home rather than investigate the possibility that he'd been drinking after he crashed his car into a barricade near the Capitol. Kennedy later blamed the incident on prescription drugs he'd been taking and checked into a rehabilitation facility.
What most angers the police about the McKinney case is that it involves an assault — no matter how minor — of a police officer. Police reported that McKinney hit an officer in the chest after he failed to recognize her as a member of Congress and tried to stop her from going around a security checkpoint, something members of Congress and their aides are typically allowed to do.
"It's obviously frustrating for us," said Andy Maybo, head of the Capitol Hill police union. "This sends out the message that it's OK to hit a police officer — and it's not, regardless of who you are."
In legal terms, McKinney's case "is as simple as you can get," said George Washington University legal expert Jonathan Turley. Usually anyone who hits a police officer is immediately arrested on felony charges, police and legal experts said.
In political terms, however, Mc-Kinney's case is far from simple. "It is loaded with emotion, and I think the U.S. attorney is being very, very conservative in how they approach this."
Given the political sensitivity — made all the more delicate by Mc-Kinney's early accusations that she was the victim of racial profiling — legal experts said it's understandable that no decision has been made.
"That would be unusual for a run-of-the-mill case, but this isn't a run-of-the-mill case," said Frank Carter, former head of the public defender service in Washington whose clients included White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
He said many cases like McKinney's never reach a grand jury because they're settled quietly and privately, avoiding a public spectacle. "This ... begged for that," he said.
As soon as a negro is involved they run and hide like rabbits.
Gets my vote for dumb comment of this day. What the cop should have done the instant the Buckwheat look-alike touched him was execute a body-slam face-plant with a knee in the back of ol' Cinny. People could just get over that too.
BTTT
The FIX is on! RATS always slide! ALWAYS!
They are a protected class don't you know that?
SOP. Take their time...hoping everyone will forget. Nothing will happen.
This is one of those things that people should just get over. Not fair, but life is not always fair.
Gets my vote for dumb comment of this day. What the cop should have done the instant the Buckwheat look-alike touched him was execute a body-slam face-plant with a knee in the back of ol' Cinny. People could just get over that too.
I agree dumb comment and was not paying attention either. The truth is I was answering a post from someone who had said that it is possible nothing will come of it and unfortunately nothing will be made of it. We can't make it happen after writing letters and yelling about it.
Soon our government can put them on the endangered species list.
Apointed by Ashcroft?
I suspect there would have been 24/7 coverage of ANY Republican who ASSAULTED a POLICEMAN. Then after about a month there would be weekly hour shows devoted to the Republican Rage Syndrome and then daily updates.
NOT TO MENTION dozens of Grand Jury LEAKS to keep the story on the front burner!!
Anyone doubt this?
"Frank Carter, former head of the public defender service in Washington whose clients included White House intern Monica Lewinsky" doesn't seem to have much of a moral compass, does he?
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