McKinney Apologizes For Scuffle
Rep. Expresses 'Sincere Regret' For Altercation With Police Officer
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Play CBS Video Video McKinney Regrets Incident CBS News RAW: Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., expressed "sincere regret" and said "there should not have been any physical contact" in an incident with a Capitol police officer.
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Video McKinney On Capitol Scuffle Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., may face charges following a scuffle with police on Capitol Hill. McKinney and her attorney, Michael Raffauf, speak with Harry Smith.
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Video 'I Will Be Exonerated' CBS News RAW: Rep. Cynthia McKinney held a press conference, in which she expressed regret that her altercation with a Capitol Hill police officer occurred.
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Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., at a meeting of the Concerned Black Clergy of Metropolitan Atlanta, Inc. April 3, 2006 in Atlanta. McKinney did not take questions about her alleged altercation with a Capitol police officer in Washington, DC. (GETTY)
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Rep. Cynthia McKinney, right, D-Ga., is greeted with a kiss by Georgia state Rep. Tyrone Brooks as she was about to address the media at a news conference in Atlanta, April 3, 2006. (AP)
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Republicans initially responded by advancing legislation to commend the Capitol police for their professionalism. Several GOP lawmakers sported pins expressing their support for the police.
It was unclear how much legal jeopardy McKinney confronted. A grand jury has subpoenaed two congressional aides who witnessed the confrontation.
Lisa Subrize, executive assistant to Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Mich., and Troy Phillips, senior legislative assistant to Rep. Sam Farr, D-Calif., notified Speaker Dennis Hastert late Wednesday, as is customary under House procedure.
"After consultation with the Office of General Counsel, I have determined that compliance with the subpoena is consistent with the precedents and privileges of the House," both aides said in statements that a clerk read into the House record.
Bob Jackson, a spokesman for McCotter, said that Subrize witnessed the confrontation and immediately filled out a form for the Capitol Police, describing what she saw.
He and a spokeswoman for Farr declined further comment.
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who on Tuesday abandoned his re-election bid under a cloud of ethics charges, weighed in on Wednesday, saying McKinney "is a racist."
"She has a long history of racism," DeLay, R-Texas, said on Fox News Channel. "Everything is racism with her. This is incredible arrogance that sometimes hits these members of Congress, but especially Cynthia McKinney."
On Wednesday, McKinney had charged anew that racism is behind what she said is a pattern of difficulty in clearing Hill security checkpoints, arguing that officers assigned to protect Congress members should recognize her, even without her congressional pin.
"This has become much ado about a hairdo," she told CBS News' The Early Show. McKinney, a Georgia Democrat, recently dropped her trademark cornrows in favor of a curly brown afro.
The incident in a House office building has caused a commotion on Capitol Hill, where security in the era of terrorist threat is tighter than ever and where authorities had to order an evacuation just Monday because of a power outage. Capitol Police have turned the McKinney case over to U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein.
©MMVI, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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