WASHINGTON, April 25, 2006, 8:20 a.m. - U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney has replaced her attorney a week after retaining the services of another lawyer to fight charges she struck a uniformed officer last month.

    CNN reported today that James Myart, a prominent Texas civil rights attorney, "issued a statement Monday saying he no longer represented her. He did not explain why she was no longer his client."

    "I am bound by attorney-client confidentiality not to discuss the past representation," Myart told CNN.

    Meanwhile, McKinney learned yesterday that she will be challenged by a well-known attorney for her seat in Congress. 

    She learned Attorney Henry "Hank" Johnson Jr., a two-term member of the DeKalb County Commission, will run against her when she filed for reelection yesterday, as first reported by Redding News Review. 

     Redding News Review also exclusively reported last week that the congresswoman retained the legal services of defense attorney William B. Moffit.

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   "Congresswoman McKinney has apologized repeatedly about the incident," said Coz Carson, her spokesman. "She is looking forward to having this matter put to rest in the very near future."

   Moffit is the former attorney for jailed Palestinian professor Sami Al-Arian. Al-Arian is being deported after federal prosecutors failed to convict him of helping lead a Palestinian militant group.

    Moffit, who is based in Washington, D.C., is also the past president of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.   

    McKinney,51, faces charges that she struck Paul McKenna - a third year officer in the U.S. Capitol Police - in the chest with a closed fist while entering a House office building on March 29. The Democrat, who has changed her hairstyle from her trademark cornrows, has said she was not wearing proper identification when she entered the building.   

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