Rep. Cynthia McKinney apologizes for scuffle with officer at Capitol building

WASHINGTON -- With a grand jury investigating and little support from House colleagues, Rep. Cynthia McKinney reversed course and apologized Thursday for an altercation in which she entered a Capitol building unrecognized, refused to stop when asked by a police officer and then hit him.

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

The grand jury investigation into whether to seek assault or other charges was continuing. It was unclear what impact the McKinney apology might have.

Her remarks came as two House officials who witnessed the March 29 scuffle prepared to answer subpoenas from the grand jury convened by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Wainstein. A day earlier, McKinney was shunned on the House floor by several colleagues, while the leaders of her party openly rejected her explanation that she was acting in self defense when she hit the officer.

What McKinney called a "misunderstanding" on Thursday she had labeled "racial profiling" and "inappropriate touching" a day earlier. For nearly a week, she and her lawyers had insisted that she had been assaulted and had done nothing wrong. She is black and the police officer is white.

McKinney, 51, has a history of confrontations with officers.

In this case, she entered a House office building without passing through the metal detector that screens visitors. Members of Congress are permitted to bypass the machines, but she was not wearing the pin that identified her as a House member at the time.

The officer, whose name has not been made public, has said he asked McKinney three times to stop. She did not.

Terrance Gainer, outgoing chief of the Capitol Police, has said the officer placed a hand on her and she responded by hitting him. He said McKinney's race was not a factor.

The incident has embarrassed Democrats, including fellow members of the Congressional Black Caucus, none of whom has publicly defended her behavior.

The caucus' silence stands in contrast to its investigations of past scuffles between the U.S. Capitol Police and members.

One such probe occurred in 1990, when the caucus investigated whether Rep. Mickey Edwards, R-Okla., poked a black female Capitol Police officer and shouted curses at her after she had denied entrance to an Edwards staffer who did not have a House identification card with her.

A year later, the caucus investigated an incident in which a Capitol Police officer allegedly denied Rep. Louis Stokes, D-Ohio, entrance to the garage of a House office building because the officer did not believe Stokes was a member.

Republicans initially responded to the McKinney incident by advancing legislation to commend the Capitol Police for their professionalism.

Two House aides who witnessed the confrontation were subpoenaed Wednesday to testify before the grand jury.

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.

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.

A spokeswoman for Farr declined 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 was behind what she said was 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 hairdo," she said on CBS' "The Early Show." McKinney recently dropped her trademark cornrows in favor loose curls.