Grand Jury Won't Indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney Lawmaker Was Involved in a Scuffle With Capitol Hill Police By LAURIE KELLMAN, AP WASHINGTON (AP) - A grand jury declined to indict Rep. Cynthia McKinney on Friday in connection with a confrontation in which she admitted hitting a police officer who tried to stop her from entering a House office building. The grand jury had been considering the case since shortly after the March 29 incident, which has led to much discussion on Capitol Hill about race and the conduct of lawmakers and the officers who protect them. "We respect the decision of the grand jury in this difficult matter," said U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein. His statement, released late Friday, also included support for the officer involved, Paul McKenna, and the Capitol Police. He said, "This is a tremendously difficult job, and it is one that Officer McKenna and his colleagues perform with the utmost professionalism and dignity." With that, Wainstein closed a case that has simmered with racial and political tension. The encounter began when McKinney tried to enter a House office building without walking through a metal detector or wearing the lapel pin that identifies members of Congress. McKenna did not recognize her as a member of Congress and asked her three times to stop. When she ignored him, he tried to stop her. McKinney then hit him. McKinney described the encounter as "racial profiling," insisting she had been assaulted and had done nothing wrong. McKinney is black. McKenna is white. She received little public support for that stance, even within the Congressional Black Caucus. Wainstein, meanwhile, referred the matter to a federal grand jury, which then subpoenaed several House aides thought to have witnessed the encounter. McKenna, too, testified. Members of the CBC privately urged McKinney to put the matter behind her. The next morning, she appeared on the House floor to apologize. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all, and I regret its escalation, and I apologize," McKinney, D-Ga., said April 6. "There should not have been any physical contact in this incident." 06/16/06 17:33 EDT
This is the second high profile case involving a black Democrat politician that the Justice Department has mishandled. I suppose the U. S. Attorney for the District of Columbia is technically responsible, but I would expect in a politcially charged case theyw ould take their orders from Main Justice. the other was the incredible and insulting decision to let former D.C. Mayor Mation Barry plea bargain a lock solid tax evasion case into probation. Willful tax evasion for attorneys, accountants and pols almost always gets jail time, particularly when the amounts are large, as they were with Barry. I have to think for some reason the Bush Justice Department is soft-pedalling these cases. If a prosecustor wants an indictment, he will gt an indictment. Grand juries are basically under their thumb and they have a lot of ways to pressure them to do what they want. Or they can just present it to another grand jury. One way or another, an indictment wil issue if the government wants one. This must do wonders for the morale of the Capitol Police, particularly on the heels of the Patrick Kennnedy scandal. I'm sure if the officer in the McKinney incident had done anything at all suspect, say maybe tazer that crazy woman, he would have been fired immediately.
I have to say that I don't care for Representative McKinney's attitude. The impression I get is that she is a pushy arrogant jerk who decided to back off when she discovered she was on the wrong side of this one. Her attitude reminds me of the "welfare moms" living in South Los Angeles ghettos. They know the best thing they can do is to keep a low profile and just keep cashing those checks. McKinney knows this (her present job) is a boondoggle and that she will never have it this good again, especially if she had to work for a living. In my opinion, someone should have put her ass in jail. Thank you Steve