Former congresswoman files libel suit

ATLANTA, July 28 (UPI) -- Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., has filed a libel suit against The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

McKinney, who lost a primary election in her Georgia district in 2006, claims the newspaper misrepresented facts about her highly publicized run-in with Capitol security. The lawsuit focuses on the work of Cynthia Tucker, the editorial page editor who won a Pulitzer Prize this year in part for her columns on McKinney.

The former congresswoman claims someone telephoned bomb threats to her office from the Journal-Constitution.

"The allegations in the lawsuit are not just frivolous, they're preposterous," said Peter Canfield, the newspaper's lawyer. "Libel suits aren't vehicles to rewrite history."

The lawsuit cites one Tucker column about McKinney's scuffle with a capitol police officer who asked her to identify herself.

"Instead of admitting the fact that the officer used force against the congresswoman, Tucker states only that the officers 'stopped her,' in an effort to falsely portray Cynthia McKinney as the wrongdoer," court papers said.