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Rep. Cynthia McKinney's apology for her actions related to her alleged assualt of a Capitol Hill police officer was based on a draft apology prepared in the office of Democrat Leader Nancy Pelosi, according to Democrats we spoke to on Thursday. The draft was passed along to members of the Congressional Black Caucus on Tuesday, and versions of the draft were bounced around after several conversations with McKinney herself.

"She did not want to say 'I apologize for x or y or z,' which is why the statement is worded the way it is," says a Democrat aide. "The Black Caucus put a lot of pressure on her to to make the statement. We were joking that they were surrounding her during the statement not to show solidarity, but to make sure she didn't run away."

In a related matter, Democrat leadership was attempting to determine just how McKinney was paying for a bodyguard who has been trailing her. News reports identified him as a former Georgia state law enforcement employee, and reporters caught him on tape attempting to intimidate one of their own. "If she's paying for this guy out of taxpayer money, we have a whole new problem on our hands," says the Democrat leadership staffer.

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