Have bloggers researched McKinney's accuser?

[grasswire]

Just askin'. If they're trying to take her down, they'd use a faithful operative to accuse her. I'm sure that most security people would just ignore the whole thing -- just brush it off. Have bloggers done their job to research this? I haven't even seen the guard's name yet.

[Ian David]

1. His name is Richard Jewell

Just kidding.

That's a good point though.

Let's find out!

[wicket]

25. BAAAAAAAAAD joke

Still funny though :D

[stepnw1f]

2. Yeah... no kidding

You raise an interesting point. Who is this masked man and why the secrecy of his identity?

[goclark]

3. Good point ~ let's roll

Why is his name such a secret?

Doesn't he wear a badge with his name on it?

[paul_fromatlanta]

4. I'm pretty sure his name has not been released

But it will have to be if any charges are filed.

[Ian David]

5. They refuse to release the name of the officer

During the conference, held at historically black Howard University in Washington, civil rights attorney James Myart said his client was "assaulted" by a Capitol Police officer, whose name the department refuses to release.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/03/31/mckinney.police/

I am sure some capitol hill insider knows the guy's name.

[DBoon]

6. That alone sounds fishy

nt

[DrGonzoLives]

9. Given the sentiment expressed in this thread

i.e., dig into whoever the personal life of whoever this guy is, I don't blame them for not releasing his identity.

[IsItJustMe]

12. Every coin has two sides.

[DBoon]

13. 1) A police officer is acting as a public employee

and is subject to the same scrutiny as any other employee

2) A concern for confidentiality has not prevented all kinds of rumors flying about the CongressWoman. If this were NOT a political football, the entire matter would be handled with confidentiality. As it is, we have an entirely one-sided protection, where the accuser is anonymous and the accused is being tried in the press.

[DrGonzoLives]

14. Is the security officer a public figure?

No. Rep. McKinney is.

Even if there were no public figures involved, it would not be handled confidentially, as police reports and warrants are public knowledge. The relative fame of those involved simply multiplies the likelihood of it being found out.

[grasswire]

16. if police reports and warrants are public knowledge...

...then why isn't the identity of the accuser known to the public?

[DBoon]

17. This stinks of unfounded rumor and innuendo

And the identity of arresting officers is not typically witheld from the public.

[radio4progressives]

27. Public Saftey is Public Office - We can have the names of Officers in

our localities, involved in disputes or arrests..

we sure the hell can of an officer harrassing a Congress member.

[Ian David]

31. The GOP wouldn't be introducing a bill commending the guy...

if it were a simple, non-partisan issue.

[Katherine Brengle]

18. Agreed.

[Ian David]

30. The accused have a right to confront the witnesses against them...

and don't you think the capitol police should have the squeekiest-cleaniest records of any cops anywhere?

[rpannier]

37. Then the accused would be the Congress Woman

Not a bunch of people on the internet trying to dig up whatever dirt they can on someone.

edited because I need to learn to spell.

[tanyev]

7. Well, well, well.

Surely they'd release the name for an official commendation--proposed by two Republican Congressmen. This really smells.

GOP Resolution): Capitol Police To Be Commended (for assaulting McKinney)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x2207167

[Karenina]

21. Anonymous cop, NO witnesses

and a LOCKED UP surveillance tape which I'm certain will go missing or be said NOT to have recorded the encounter, Mighty Wurlitzer cranking it out for days... punch, slap, smack, hit, poke... Nothing to see here!

[AtomicKitten]

28. she didn't stop when she was asked to stop

If you or I had done the same, we would be thrown in jail. Witnesses have reported she struck the cop, whether it is punched or slapped, I don't know. But that's hardly the point. Just not stopping when asked is enough. She refuses to wear the proper ID pin. She can't expect every human on earth to know who she is.

Why is it that people at DU are making every excuse in the book for this bad behavior? We abhor that coddling on the other side of the aisle.

[Ian David]

32. She displayed her ID badge.

I'm not a big fan of some of the things McKinney has done.

But we deserve to treat this with the same level of concern that the GOP does when one of their own stands accused.

Let's have a lengthy, secret investigation that drags-on pointlessly until well after the next election.

Maybe we'll be done investigating her by the time the Republicans release Phase II of the intelligence investigation.

[tanyev]

34. We probably would be thrown in jail.

But at least the police report would be public knowledge. And I suspect no GOP congressmen would propose a resolution commending the Capitol Hill police for our apprehension.

[Karenina]

35. Witnesses have reported...

Please provide a link unless they're some more "anonymous" statements, in which case I'm not interested. Cell phone in hand, is it possible she didn't hear him or realize he was talking to her? Could she have just "poked" him with it instinctively in response to being grabbed from behind??? You and many others on this board are adamant in your unwillingness to give her ANY benefit of the doubt, in the face of the FACT that no real facts have been provided. The "guard" is in hiding, protected from scrutiny, the tape has already been redacted, the Mighty Wurlitzer has legions willing to crank it. Yours and many other posts concentrate on how you assume SHE__________________.

She does not expect every human on earth to know who she is. Just the ones whose job it is to protect her and her colleagues safety. She has been harassed by security for over a decade.

Being a musician, black and female, having many "high profile" friends in the entertainment industry I know quite a bit about the "games security guards play" from my own experience and from hearing the experiences of others. The bottom line is for some, "Yeah, you may be the famous star, making more money than I could ever dream of, but I'M in charge here and to me you're just another nigger." It's the "At LEAST I'M WHITE." trump card.

I write this with no hope of your understanding it, as it's clear by your many posts that you likely won't consider or care. It's just sad that the benefit of the doubt cannot be offered to someone who has put life and limb on the line to serve your real interests.

[howmad1]

44. FYI

Every Capitol cop is diligently trained to recognize every member of Congress before setting foot on Capitol grounds. If anyone is to blame it probably is the asshole cop/cops who are now incognito. Hmmmm, how very convenient. Sure seems like a rethglican conspiracy to take the focus off Delay.

[LiberalFighter]

47. It is what I have posted before about those cops recognizing members

It would be different if the members had all been newly elected in the past month.
They weren't!!

There are members with more than 30 years service and there are the recently elected. They don't have to start over with each election. McKinney has been in Congress long enough to be recognized by anyone that is there on a regular basis.

I bet cafeteria help know every member that passes thru their line. I bet janitorial help know everyone on their route. I bet mail deliverly help know everyone that they deliver to including the staff of the member.

[LiberalFighter]

46. You are not an elected official and neither am I

Those Capitol Police are paid to provide security for the Capitol and the members.

Those Capitol Police should know who those members are by sight.

Members are not required to pass through security and like the next poster stated... she had her badge. The pins are really worthless because they don't provide ID. The badge that McKinney was wearing does provide information about the person.

What about these reps not wearing their pin??





Feeney stood with Chairman Sensenbrenner

[Andromeda]

43. CNN reported today that...

McKinney is going before a grand jury and that there is one witness who will testify to what happened.

That's all I've heard so far.

Why make all these assumptions when you have no idea what happened? Let the legal process play out and the facts will be revealed.

[LiberalFighter]

45. That has to be against House Rules

[movonne]

8. This whole thing smells like rotten fish...we have a right to know

his name..why do we get Mc Kinney's name and not her accusers..

[peacetalksforall]

10. I like fighters who speak their mind. If more things 'happen' to her

or if she isn't super careful, we could get to a point where we will have to face the fact that she is 'their' target just as Bill Clinton was. The relentless pursuit of _______________ fill in the blanks.

Watch for a signal - the signal will be whether they press charges. If they don't, they can use this against her FOREVER. If they press charges, the details will have to be made known. If she was out of line, she will be charged. And that should provide an ending for rationale people.

[IsItJustMe]

11. Who ever he is, I don't want to ever have any run ins with. He sounds

like a real piece of work.

[grasswire]

15. Isn't it a constitutional right to face one's accuser?

The accusation has been made public. The mighy Wurlitzer has taken up the charge.

How, then, can the accuser's identity be kept from the public by authorities?

Sounds Stalinesque to me!

[kestrel91316]

39. Unfortunately, everything about this entire administration

is Stalinesque.

[Hell Hath No Fury]

19. We haven't seen the video...

we have no idea who the officer is and if he has any history with McKinney.

Clearly, there's a lot more to this story for us to find out.

[Catherine Vincent]

20. I'm thinking whoever it is, he's not the one making a big deal out of this

[onenote]

41. I've heard something similar

There is a rumor (and its just a rumor, so take it as no more than that), that the cop was willing to let the incident go, but that the police union wants to push the issue. Plausible, although unconfirmed.

onenote

[robcon]

22. McKinney hasn't been accused

The D.A. or capitol police will provide the name when the reason for the accusation/indictment, if it comes, is published, and the alleged facts are disclosed.

What's the rush? Looking to discredit someone you don't know is prejudice, IMO.

[rman]

23. He will be discredited only if research reveals proper cause

for him to be discredited.

[McCamy Taylor]

24. Make people scared to go along with RNC dirty tricks like this one.

The officer has probably been assured that his name will never be made public. If the RNC is going to start playing the game of media lynching african-americans in order to mobilize the base that it is alienating with its immigration bill, we need to find out who the players in its scheme are. Only by making people scared as shit to go along with RNC dirty tricks will we be able to put a stop to this despicable practice.

I smell a rat in the grand jury leaks in the Barry Bonds case to reporters too. Did the prosecutors leak the info so that there would be an investigation and then perjury prosecution of a prominent african-american? All too much like the Clinton-Lewinsky case.

We have grown complacent in the last few years. The administration has concentated on foreign, middle eastern boogey men and has left african-americans alone. That is changing right now. The days of Willie Horton are returning with a vengeance as Karl Rove seeks to get out the conservative vote that threatens to stay home.

[grasswire]

36. they sure hate uppity women of color

Look at the crap Sheila Jackson Lee and Maxine Waters have had to endure since 2000.

[Karenina]

40. Bingo!

It's ALL about "Homeland Security." Wonder who's next? :hide:

[brentspeak]

26. It would be stupid (and unfair) to publically scrutinize the cop if he

has yet to press charges or pursue a lawsuit. What if he doesn't? Then you'd look like someone who graduated from the Karl Rove Academy of Republican Dirty Tricks.

I'd get suspicious of the cop if he pursues a lawsuit, as was rumored in a couple of articles. Probably also if he insists on making a Capitol Murder case out of this (no pun intended). But that's "if".

[ieoeja]

29. What you said.

Furthermore, I have a few philosophical questions:

1. If a tree falls in the forest, and there is noone there to hear it, does it make a sound?

2. If a man speaks, and there is no woman to hear him, is he still wrong?

3. If a congressman violates building security, and nobody makes an arrest or calls a press conference, is there an accuser?

[rpannier]

38. Very good post.

I'd give you a greatest...if I could.

[Ian David]

33. Before accusing the cop, remember Richard Jewell

On the other hand, we don't want to let the guy slip under the radar screen, either.

Wouldn't it be funny if he was a cousin of Orin Hatch or something?

[KoKo]

42. I think DU "researchers" are so discouraged they don't bother anymore...

I always hope that those of us who did research and tried to help out ended up over at Josh Marshall's "Muckraker" site...but I don't know.

I just know that anyone here who does huge amounts of time doing "research" ends up with their post going off to "archives" after 5 or 10 posters giving Kudo's and maybe 2 recommendations. :-(

I used to think DU was the PLACE for CITIZEN RESEARCH...but it get's "no play" here.

I don't know where you would find enthusiasm for what you are saying ...maybe with the "Daily Kos Folks?" Since Markos is "HOT" with his New Book? :shrug: