Life on the Hill as Reported by CQ

CQ TODAY – CONGRESSIONAL AFFAIRS
March 29, 2006 – 6:36 p.m.
Police Investigate Altercation Witnesses Say Involved McKinney
By Susan Ferrechio, CQ Staff

Capitol Police said they are investigating what happened Wednesday morning when, according to officers and congressional aides, Rep. Cynthia A. McKinney, D-Ga., struck an officer with a mobile telephone after she entered the Cannon House Office Building.

“The matter has been brought to our attention and it is under investigation,” said Sgt. Kimberly Schneider.

Officers said a male colleague at the building’s entrance did not recognize McKinney and asked her to stop and wait to be screened. Lawmakers are permitted to routinely bypass Capitol security checkpoints.

When approached, the congresswoman turned around and hit the officer, police said. One officer said police have a videotape of the incident.

A House leadership aide who talked with police was told that the officer at the door followed McKinney, asked her three times for identification, then touched her arm. McKinney turned and “made contact with his chest,” the aide said.

Neither the officers who described the incident nor aides could say whether McKinney was wearing the pin that identifies members of Congress.

McKinney and her aides did not respond to requests for comment.

McKinney is a 6th-term member who represents Georgia’s 4th District. She returned to the House last year after being ousted from her seat in a Democratic primary in 2002. Before her defeat, she provoked a national uproar by implying in a radio interview that the Bush administration may have known in advance about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.

Source: CQ Today