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Politics : Just the Facts, Ma'am: A Compendium of Liberal Fiction -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jagfan who wrote (47332)	4/6/2006 9:09:38 PM
From: sandintoes	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 90947

She actually hit the policeman in the face with her cell phone...what does that tell you? OOOPS SHE DID IT AGAIN! McKinney apologizes on House floor Federal grand jury considers charges in scuffle with Capitol police By BOB KEMPER The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/06/06 Washington – With a federal grand jury considering whether to charge her with assault, Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia went on the House floor Thursday and apologized for her role in a scuffle with a Capitol Police officer last week. "There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney, surrounded by a handful of lawmakers, said. Rep. Cynthia McKinney's statement to the House: "Thank you Mr. Speaker. I come before this body to personally express, again, my sincere regret about the encounter with the Capitol Hill Police. I appreciate my colleagues who are standing with me, who love this institution and who love this country. There should not have been any physical contact in this incident. I have always supported law enforcement, and will be voting for H. Res. 756 expressing my gratitude and appreciation to the professionalism and dedication of the men and women of the U.S. Capitol Police. I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation. And I apologize." "I am sorry this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation and I apologize," McKinney said, drawing applause from the partially-filled chamber. To demonstrate her "gratitude and appreciation" for Capitol police, McKinney said she would vote for a House resolution praising the police that was originally introduced by Republicans who wanted to use it to symbolically chastise McKinney. McKinney appeared on the House floor around midday just as a federal grand jury was preparing to hear from subpoenaed congressional aides who witnessed her confrontation with a Capitol Hill police officer last Wednesday. An officer, who didn't recognize McKinney, tried to stop her from going around a security checkpoint in a House office building as members of Congress and their staffs are allowed to do. The officer called to McKinney to stop and, when she didn't, put his hand on her, prompting McKinney to spin around and allegedly strike the officer. The federal prosecutor in Washington turned the case over to the grand jury to determine whether charges should be filed against McKinney. The charge can range from assault on a police officer, a felony, to simple assault, a misdemeanor. The grand jury and prosecutor also could just drop charges. McKinney has been keeping a very high profile since the incident occurred, asserting in press conferences and television interviews that she was the victim of racial profiling. The officer who stopped McKinney, an African-American, was white. McKinney made no reference to racial profiling in her statement on the House floor. But even as McKinney appeared to be trying to put the issue to rest, a bodyguard she hired – reportedly a former Georgia state trooper – was raising another furor when he threatened a television reporter trying to interview McKinney outside the Capitol just minutes before she appeared on the House floor. When the reporter from Cox Broadcasting tried to ask McKinney about the grand jury, the bodyguard told him, "I'm going to put your ass in jail. I'm a police officer," a videotape of the incident shows. Asked if he worked for Capitol police, the man said, "I work for Miss McKinney." Word that McKinney had hired a bodyguard roiled the ranks of the Capitol police who were worried that the guard was carrying a weapon. They said they are concerned about what the bodyguard might do if Capitol police challenged McKinney at a security checkpoint. McKinney's office did not return repeated phone calls seeking comment. Scott MacFarlane of Cox Broadcasting contributed to this report. ajc.com