McKinney Cancels News Conference (Arrest Warrant for Cynthia McKinney About to be Issued!!!

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.

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.

Article I, section 6: Discussing senate and house members: They shall in all Cases, except Treason, Felony and Breach of the Peace, be privileged from Arrest during their Attendance at the Session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any Speech or Debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other Place. I think that means she can't be issued an arrest warrent during the session for a misdemeanor. Note this is also the clause the says that if a senator leaks classified information on the floor of the house or senate, they cannot be prosecuted for it, except by the senate or house itself, which can do no more than expell the member. Which is why every congressman or senator could read the entire Barrett report into the record. The judicial branch CAN'T forbid them from seeing the report, and they can't constitutionally act to punish them for speaking in session. It also explains why nobody has done it though -- unless you KNOW a majority in the body will fight for you, you risk punishment within the body.

Thanks for the Constitutional discussion. My first smart-assed reaction when I saw it was shusssssss...most current members of Congress are clueless about what's in the document they are sworn to protect and defend. Don't wake them up now when McKinney is fixin' to have her butt arrested. However, I revere the Constitution too much to give in to my baser instincts.

The question revolves around how "session" is defined. Both houses of Congress get to make their own rules. Somewhere buried in the House rules, I would assume there is a definition of "session." Is it the broad two-year term of office for members? Or is it more narrowly defined as when there an active session occurring on the floor of the House? If it's the latter, and the House had not been gaveled into the daily session, then she can be arrested.

http://www.tray.com/

445 contributions listed for MCKINNEY, CYNTHIA A

1 . Abbassi, Samih
4/19/2004 $300.00
Washington Townshi, NJ 07675
economist [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

2 . Abdullah, Raied
7/19/2004 $250.00
Orland Park, IL 60467
[Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

3 . Abdur-Rahim, Julius
7/19/2004 $500.00
Atlanta, GA 30327
Abdur Rahim Enterprise [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

4 . Aboukayyas, Yousef
10/7/2004 $500.00
Richardson, TX 75081
[Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

5 . Abu-Ghazalen, Samir
4/23/2004 -$500.00
Sioux Falls, SD 57110
[contribution refunded to individual]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

6 . Aburmishan, M. A.
10/12/2004 $500.00
Des Plaines, IL 60018
[Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

7 . Abuzarad, Husam A
10/7/2004 $400.00
Spring Hill, FL 34609
[Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

8 . Adaya, Amina
4/23/2004 -$1,000.00
Santa Monica, CA 90402
[contribution refunded to individual]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

9 . Affaneh, Ahmad
6/3/2004 $500.00
Bridgeview, IL 60455
self/physican [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

10 . Agha, Amr Amin
5/10/2004 $2,000.00
Atlanta, GA 30327
self/physican [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

11 . Aglaguel, Abdelaziz
6/1/2004 $250.00
Elmwood Park, NJ 07407
self/physican [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

12 . Ahmad, Mohammed
7/13/2004 $2,000.00
Norcross, GA 30093
[Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

13 . Ahmed, A. M.
4/23/2004 -$1,000.00
Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730
[contribution refunded to individual]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

14 . Ahmed, Fakhiuddin
6/7/2004 $400.00
Great Neck, NY 11021
self/physican [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

15 . Ahmed, Habeenbuddin
6/7/2004 $250.00
Searingtown, NY 11507
Medical Tech. [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

16 . Ahmed, Vaseem T.
4/19/2004 $500.00
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
law clerk [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

17 . Ahmed, Vaseem T.
4/19/2004 $500.00
Princeton Junction, NJ 08550
law clerk [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

18 . Akhras, Abdulbari
7/18/2004 $2,000.00
Burr Ridge, IL 60521
self/physican [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

19 . Akhras, Kasem
6/3/2004 $250.00
Clifton, NJ 07012
[Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

20 . Akhtar, Naeem
6/3/2004 $300.00
Fresno, CA 93711
self/physican [Contribution]
Transaction itemized by: CYNTHIA MCKINNEY FOR CONGRESS
[View Image]

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.