Deal in the Works?

According to Drudge, the Atlanta Journal Constitution is running a story claiming that prosecutors are in talks to resolve the Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-GA) incident where she allegedly shoved or hit a Capitol Police officer who had sought to obtain proper identification from Rep. McKinney as she entered the Rayburn HOB.

Capitol police officer have been talking privately with McKinney's office in hopes of resolving the case without the spectacle of an indictment and trial, officials familiar with the talks say.

Prosecutors for several weeks have been carrying on confidential discussions with the DeKalb County Democrat in what they characterized as an effort to reach a plea agreement, even as they were presenting evidence in the March 29 incident to a grand jury, said the officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

The grand jury has not yet decided whether McKinney should be charged, an official familiar with the proceedings said, and no decision is expected this week. The prosecutors have subpoenaed at least six witnesses to appear before the jury over the last two months.

McKinney's office rejected claims that there have been discussions of a plea agreement, saying the congresswoman has not been charged with anything and may never be, so there's no plea to negotiate.

"At this time, I have no comment as I am unaware of any 'legal case' regarding Ms. McKinney and [the] March 29 incident," William Moffitt, one of McKinney's lawyers, said in an e-mailed statement.

A spokesman for U.S. Attorney Ken Wainstein's office and a Justice Department spokesman declined to comment on the talks or even confirm they were occurring.

Negotiated settlements in cases as controversial and politically sensitive as McKinney's are common, according to former federal prosecutors and lawyers with experience in Washington's Superior Court. They said there is often pressure on the prosecutors from higher-ups at the Justice Department and possibly the White House to resolve such cases quickly and quietly.

Actually, it would be in McKinney's best interest to get this case resolved while the White House and GOP would be best served by watching the spectacle unfold. After all, such a spectacle would undermine one of the Democrats key themes for the November election - that the GOP is part and parcel of the culture of corruption.

As an aside, one has to love that this is yet another story based on leaks of information from unnamed sources.