When a Congresswoman Attacks

The story of Cynthia and the Cell Phone has more plot twists and intrigue than an episode of 24.

Wednesday, when the incident occurred, Rep. Cynthia McKinney posted the following statement on her official website:

(Washington, DC) - To the Members of the Capitol Hill Police:

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.

Note that McKinney directs her comments and her praise to the Capitol Hill Police. Her statement was explanatory and apologetic.

Today, she did a complete 180. She was no longer braving the brave police force charged with securing the buildings and protecting the people on Capitol Hill. She was on the attack.

McKinney scheduled a flashy news conference Friday afternoon to condemn the Capitol Hill Police as racist. Her statement also included a vague reference that could be interpreted as an accusation of sexual assault.

From the Washington Post:

Cynthia McKinney, the Georgia congresswoman who had an altercation with a Capitol Police officer, said yesterday that the officer started the incident by "inappropriately touching and stopping" her after she walked past a security checkpoint.

McKinney, speaking at a news conference where she was joined by singer Harry Belafonte and actor Danny Glover, said she understands that a case against her may be referred for prosecution but declared that she will be exonerated.

"Let me be clear: This whole incident was instigated by the inappropriate touching and stopping of me, a female black congresswoman," McKinney said. "I deeply regret that this incident occurred."

...She and her two lawyers would not say whether she hit the officer or how he touched her inappropriately.

James W. Myart Jr., one of McKinney's attorneys, said he will seek an investigation against the officer, who has not been identified.

"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," he said.

Why did McKinney issue her statement commending the Capitol Hill Police on Wednesday if she felt that she had been victimized by them?

Is it inappropriate for an officer to stop a person refusing to cooperate with security and pass through the metal detector?

It's the officer's duty to make sure no one slips by a checkpoint. McKinney showed no respect whatsoever for the security process. She considered herself to be above the rules.

Instead of calmly reacting to the officer, she punched out the security process that's set in place to protect her. And now, one of her lawyers, Myart, is threatening action against the officer.

This is not the McKinney of Wednesday.

From CNN:

As U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Georgia, faces possible criminal charges for a Wednesday altercation with a Capitol Police officer, one of her lawyers said Friday that the real issues were "sex, race and Ms. McKinney's progressiveness."

I wonder. Do other women, African Americans, and liberals have the same problems that McKinney has? If so, I think they should come forward immediately to support McKinney's claims.

If sex, race, and progressiveness are the "real issues," let's find out just how pervasive the problem is.

How about a congressional hearing on the matter of racism and the Capitol Hill Police?
Better yet, how about a special counsel being appointed to investigate?

...The 51-year-old legislator was surrounded by more than two dozen supporters at the Friday news conference, some carrying handwritten placards that read "Recognize our congresswoman" and "Is Cynthia a target?"

Do McKinney and her troops realize that they are engaged in the harassment of the officer involved? They are actively disparaging his character.

Remember on Wednesday, McKinney gave no hint that the police were at fault.

During the conference, held at historically black Howard University in
Washington, civil rights attorney James Myart said his client was "assaulted" by a Capitol Police officer, whose name the department refuses to release.

"Because she was assaulted and placed in impending fear of her safety, she responded," he said. "This case has just begun and we're going to fight, and we're going to use the U.S. Constitution."

McKinney was the one who threw the punch. If anyone was assaulted it was the officer.
"Placed in impending fear of her safety"? That's really goofy.

...Myart further called the incident racial profiling and said there was "no excuse" for Capitol Police not recognizing his client, and Raffauf said she was stopped solely because of her race, gender and politics.

"It is the job of the Capitol Police to protect members of Congress. As a part of that job, they are to know who those members are," he said. "Whenever you put a police officer out on the street, he is supposed to know his job."

Yeah, and McKinney is supposed to behave like an adult.

Members of Congress are allowed to bypass the metal detectors and security checkpoint. They are supposed to wear a lapel pin that identifies them as lawmakers. McKinney acknowledges she wasn't wearing one when she was stopped, but concurred with Myart that police should know who she is.

"The pin is not the issue," the six-time congresswoman said. "The issue is face recognition."

Why are members of Congress supposed to wear a lapel pin to identify themselves?
Apparently, Capitol Hill Police are not expected to recognize the lawmakers. They are expected to look for the pin.

This whole thing is really disgraceful.

As soon as rumors of an arrest warrant being issued for McKinney swirled, she rounded up lawyers, some Hollywood Lefty extremists, leaders of civil rights organizations, and school children holding signs saying, "God bless Cynthia."
What a shameful performance!

From FOX News:

Congressional sources told FOX News that the officer, Paul McKenna, signed an affidavit swearing that McKinney responded to what he described as standard security procedures by punching him in the chest with a cell phone in her hand.

Howard Pressley, president of NAACP Georgia, called the incident a tragedy and use of excessive force.

"The mistreatment of Cynthia McKinney at the hands of Capitol Hill Police is a tragedy of major proportion and points to the vigor of outright disrespect for women and people of color," Pressley said.

"A tragedy of major proportion"? With all due respect, that's insane.

Pressley and Myart also implied that McKinney's "progressive" politics may have made her a target for mistreatment.

An assistant to Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., witnessed the incident and gave a statement to Capitol Police, sources told FOX News. The witness, whose name is being withheld, told police that she saw McKinney hit a police officer. The witness was unaware that McKinney was a congresswoman.

McKinney was not wearing her congressional lapel pin during the altercation, which Capitol Police officers use to identify lawmakers and allow them to bypass security checks.

...Several Capitol Police officials have said the officer involved asked
McKinney three times to stop. When she did not, he placed a hand on her and she hit him, they said.

In a draft of a statement that McKinney did not release, she said the officer "bodyblocked" her during the incident, and she blamed his failure to recognize her on a recent makeover.

"It is ... a shame that while I conduct the country's business, I have to stop and call the police to tell them that I've changed my hairstyle so that I'm not harassed at work," McKinney said in the draft, which was obtained by WSB-TV of Atlanta and posted on its Web site.

An official close to McKinney said the statement was a "work product" never intended to be released.

So, the statement that was circulating on Wednesday night was legitimate.

Read it here.

It's interesting that this "work product" created on Wednesday was not supposed to become public. Instead, McKinney posted that statement of respect for the police and regret about the incident.

Then, on Friday, when threatened with the truth about her behavior, her strategy changed dramatically.

I think the Dem leadership was embarrassed by McKinney brawling with a Capitol Hill officer on the day that the Dems unveiled their "Bold Security Agenda."

Nancy Pelosi has been trying to dismiss the incident as insignificant, calling it "a mistake, an unfortunate lack of recognition of a member of Congress." She said, "I would not make a big deal of this," and concluded that the officer was not at fault.

Looks like McKinney isn't following Pelosi's lead. McKinney is definitely making a big deal out of this and a fool out of herself.

I think every person standing in solidarity with McKinney and supporting her outrageous charges -- Danny Glover, Harry Belafonte, Howard Pressley -- should recall the 1998 murders of two Capitol policeman, John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut.

Perhaps they should think twice before besmirching Paul McKenna and the rest of the police force.
REMEMBERING FALLEN HEROES