Rep. Bob Filner yesterday entered a plea to head off further legal action over an altercation in August with a Washington airport baggage clerk.
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Rep. Bob Filner
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At a hearing in the General District Court of Loudon County, Va., the San Diego Democrat entered what is known as an Alford plea after prosecutors reduced the charge from misdemeanor assault and battery to trespassing.
The plea, which is similar to a no contest plea, means he did not admit guilt but acknowledged that sufficient evidence exists for a conviction. A court hearing to answer the charges had been set for Dec. 4.
Filner was fined $100. As part of the deal, he must write a letter of apology within two weeks to the baggage worker, Joanne Kay Kunkel, who works for United Airlines at Dulles International Airport.
“If it's not a real apology, that would be viewed as a breach of the agreement and I would have the option of bringing back the charges,” Ryan Perry, assistant commonwealth's attorney, told The Associated Press.
In a complaint filed after the incident, Kunkel said Filner screamed and pushed past her into an employees-only area in search of his luggage on Aug. 19.
In a written statement issued after the hearing, Filner said: “I want to say that I'm sorry. In particular, I would like to apologize to people at the baggage counter. I overreacted, I behaved discourteously and I shouldn't have.”
He said he acted out of frustration because his flight and baggage were delayed and none of the airline personnel would tell him why.
Kunkel has refused to comment on the episode.
In her complaint, Kunkel said of Filner: “He wanted people in the back office to help him. I told him they were busy. I said he needs to stop. He told me, 'You can't stop me.' I said, 'The police can.'
“At this point, I am yelling for co-workers to call the police. He gets past me into the back office, yelling at other agents. He again pushes me out of the way near the doorway.”
Filner maintained nothing violent occurred.
“I want to make clear that I did not strike, push or shove anyone,” he said in his statement. “It's very important to me that the record be clear on this point. Nor did I seek any sort of special treatment because I was a congressman. I didn't tell the United personnel where I worked or what I did for a living. I was just trying to find out where our flight's bags were.”
Filner said he had no reason to think he had done anything wrong at the airport.
“At the time, it wouldn't have occurred to me that entering an airport office under these circumstances would be considered trespassing,” he said. “But I understand now that since I was told to stay out, it can be considered trespass. That's why I'm entering what I understand is called an Alford plea. I did, in fact, go back there.”
After the incident, Filner's office called the charges “ridiculous.”
Filner's plea agreement doesn't completely put the incident behind him.
The House Ethics Committee in September appointed a four-member investigative panel headed by Rep. Gene Green, D-Texas, to look into the matter.
House rules call for the Ethics Committee to investigate any member indicted or arrested on a criminal charge and create an investigative panel no later than 30 days after the charges are filed.
The committee deferred its investigation until after the conclusion of all legal proceedings.
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