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THE TALK SHOW AMERICAN: Prosecutor gets McKinney case

Tuesday, April 04, 2006

Prosecutor gets McKinney case

Capitol Hill Police on Monday sent the results of their investigation of Rep. Cynthia McKinney of Georgia to a federal prosecutor, who will decide, possibly this week, whether to press assault charges against her for striking a police officer.

The police filing left open the question of whether McKinney should be charged with simple assault, a misdemeanor, or assault on a police officer, a felony, police and legal authorities said.

McKinney was stopped by a Capitol Hill policeman while she was going around a security checkpoint in a House office building last Wednesday. Members of Congress are allowed to skirt those checkpoints, but the officer, not recognizing McKinney, tried to stop her. A scuffle ensued.

"The issue is racial profiling and that's something we have to deal with as a country," McKinney, 51, said.

A statement issued by Capitol Hill police Monday said only that the department "has referred its investigative findings to the United States attorney." A police spokeswoman declined to elaborate.

If the office of U.S. Attorney Ken Wainstein decides not to pursue charges, the police investigation would simply end. If the prosecutor decides to pursue charges, police would need a judge to approve the arrest warrant. The prosecutor has a third option of presenting the police findings to a grand jury, which legal authorities said could add weeks to the process.

Coz Carson, a spokesman for McKinney, said the requested warrant should be dismissed if "this is a prosecutor who's not a politician."

McKinney's lawyer, James Myart, downplayed the police filing during his appearance on CNN.

"Capitol Police have sworn out the affidavit and submitted it to prosecutors. That's it," he said, portraying such filings as routine.

The police officer who stopped McKinney touched her shoulder or arm, witnesses have said. That prompted McKinney to spin around and strike the officer, though there are conflicting reports as to whether she slapped him, punched him in the chest or struck him with a cell phone.

Myart, who has called the officer's actions an "assault" on McKinney, said the congresswoman did nothing wrong in responding the way she did.

"The congresswoman acted and reacted, as far as I'm concerned, appropriately," Myart said. "In our jurisprudence there's something called self-defense."

McKinney was not wearing a special lapel pin given to members of Congress to make them easier to identify. She also has changed her hairstyle since posing for her official House portrait, the picture police would check to identify her.

"I have been in Congress 11 years and I can go into many airports, not just in America but around the world, and people don't have a problem recognizing me," McKinney said on CNN. "It's only with certain police officers on Capitol Hill."

Joseph Beasley, Rainbow/PUSH Coalition's southern regional director, portrayed the incident as part of a larger effort by McKinney's political opponents to bring her down.

"I think there is a larger scheme," said Beasley, adding he'll investigate the political backgound of the officer involved in the scuffle. "Cynthia McKinney's voice is too progressive and global. She's not afraid to speak the truth to power."

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