Better Late Than Never

Rep. Cynthia McKinney, who got into an altercation with Capitol Police has made an apology on the Capitol floor, expressing "sincere regret." Took her long enough. And it's skillfully written to muddy her actual role in the kerfuffle:

"There should not have been any physical contact in this incident," McKinney said in brief remarks on the House floor. "I am sorry that this misunderstanding happened at all and I regret its escalation and I apologize."

I'm sure she's sorry that the misunderstanding happened, but it appears that she was blaming the officer for the initial contact. Nice. She refused to answer the officer's request to stop, and when he went to stop her, she slugged the officer. Real nice.

The District of Columbia's prosecutor's office had taken this issue to a grand jury.

McKinney's apology came as a District of Columbia grand jury was to begin hearing testimony Thursday related to the confrontation, sources said Wednesday.

A decision on whether the Georgia congresswoman will be charged could come as early as next week, federal law enforcement sources said.

Senior congressional sources said that two House staff members -- Troy Phillips, an aide to Rep. Sam Farr, D-California, and Lisa Subrize, executive assistant to Rep. Thaddeus McCotter, R-Michigan -- have been subpoenaed to testify.

Police say McKinney struck a Capitol Police officer last week when the officer did not recognize her as a member of Congress and tried to stop her from entering a House office building when she did not present identification.

She claims she was inappropriately touched (codewords usually associated with sexual misconduct, not assault btw).

And again, her lawyers comments indicate that the 'courtesy' of permitting members of Congress to enter without going through the checkpoints needs to be eliminated:

McKinney and her attorneys insist that Capitol Police officers should be trained to recognize all 535 members of Congress on sight.

But while Myart has said McKinney was "assaulted" and that her reaction to the officer was appropriate, Gainer argued that McKinney has turned an officer's failure to recognize her into a criminal matter.

It would be far easier if all members had to go through the checkpoints and wear their own ID. Instead, McKinney wants to make this all about the officer's fault in not recognizing her.

UPDATE:
And Myart is a piece of work who continues to proffer the race baiting angle.

UPDATE:
Confederate Yankee reminds readers about the death of two Capitol Police officers, John Gibson and Jacob Chestnut, were gunned down trying to protect members of Congress in 1998 just like McKinney at the same kind of checkpoint she bypassed and ignored.

UPDATE:
Ian has the video of McKinney's statement. See for yourself if she actually apologized for her actions.

UPDATE:
Sister Toldjah also notes the tone of McKinney's remarks. Malkin notes that McKinney has taken to hiring a bodyguard, and Capitol Police are none too pleased. And Mac Ranger notes that should McKinney be found guilty (hey, gotta go through an indictment and trial before you get to that point) - she'd have to give up her seat.