Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney Drops Potentially Frivolous Libel Suit Against 'Atlanta Journal-Constitution'

from Editor and Publisher: "Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney Drops Libel Suit Against 'Atlanta Journal-Constitution' "

Two weeks after accusing The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and its parent company of libeling her in news articles and editorials, the former U.S. Rep. Cynthia McKinney has withdrawn a lawsuit against the newspaper.

Her attorney, M.J. Raffauf, filed papers late Monday to withdraw the suit. Raffauf did not immediately return calls for comment.

The lawsuit was filed in late July in Fulton County State Court against the newspaper, its parent company, Cox Enterprises, as well as its publisher, managing editor and editorial page editor Cynthia Tucker.

Among other allegations, the lawsuit alleges the paper contained libelous and defamatory statements in two of Tucker's 2006 columns, including one about the congresswoman's altercation with a Capitol Hill police officer in a Washington office building. That column was included in a submission that won Tucker the Pulitzer Prize earlier this year.

The lawsuit seeks unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

McKinney lost her seat in Congress after U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson won last year's party primary.