Link to CNN video of
McKinney trying to explain her "off-the-record" remarks:
http://www.cnn.com/video/player/player.html?url=/video/us/2006/04/23/starzyk.ga.mckinney.walks.out.affl&wm=10
TROUBLESPEAK
Oh cr--! Cynthia McKinney caught using C-word
Democrat tells TV station her comments were off the record
(4/23/06)
2006 WorldNetDaily.com
In the wake of her scuffle with U.S. Capitol Police,
Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney is now embroiled in a dispute with a Georgia
television station which aired a foul-mouthed comment from the Georgia Democrat.
"Oh crap," McKinney said yesterday with a microphone still attached to her at
the conclusion of an interview with WGCL-TV regarding the probe into her recent
dust-up with federal authorities.
According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, McKinney apparently realized her
blunder, and then returned to face the camera and tell the reporter that her
remarks were off the record.
"Anything that is captured by your audio while I'm not seated in this chair is
off the record and is not permissible to use," McKinney told reporter Renee
Starzyk. "Is that understood?"
The station ignored her request and aired the comment, even providing sound
bites to CNN.
McKinney apparently had become irritated at the ongoing questions regarding her
scuffle this month with Capitol Police, as she's under investigation for
allegedly assaulting an officer who did not recognize her and asked for
identification.
A partial transcript of the TV interview provided by the Atlanta paper shows how
the remark developed.
Question: Has anyone asked you about your confrontation with the Capitol police
officer?
McKinney: Actually you, media people, are the only ones who are asking about
that.
Question: I'm sure you thought about this – potentially someone might ask you
about this, outside of the media, about the confrontation – what would your
response be, how do you explain it to the people of DeKalb County?
McKinney: Well, actually no one has asked me other than you and so ... I
talk to my constituents about the things that are on their minds ...
Question: Do you think the incident will affect your chances for re-election?
McKinney: You're talking about the incident I'm talking about issues.
Question: You want to talk about issues, has the confrontation made it harder
for you to focus on the issues? Has it been a distraction?
McKinney: You're a distraction because that seems to be all you want to talk
about – but people here understand that my representation is much larger than
any discreet incident.
(OFF CAMERA, WITH MIKE STILL ON:)
Oh crap, now you know what? They lied to Coz and Coz is a fool for believin' 'em.
[Referring to aide Coz Carson]
(BACK ON CAMERA, SEATED:)
Anything that is captured by your audio while I'm not seated in this chair is
off the record and is not permissible to be used – is that understood?
Mike Machi, the assistant news director of the TV station, says McKinney's
office was aware his reporter would ask about the incident in the one-on-one
interview, and was unapologetic about airing the interview outtakes.
"Congresswoman McKinney has been in Washington for a long time and she has
handled the media for most of her public life," Machi told the
Journal-Constitution. "There were lots of ways to handle this and I was
absolutely surprised that she handled this situation in that fashion."
