House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner expressed regret Wednesday following an altercation last week with an airline baggage employee that led to misdemeanor charges against him.
Filner, a California Democrat, faces assault and battery charges in the Aug. 19 incident in which he allegedly shoved a United Airlines employee at Dulles International Airport after refusing to leave an area reserved for airline employees.
In a statement, Filner said he "was tired after a delayed flight and frustrated by the subsequent further delay of the entire flight's baggage." The incident occurred as Filner was on a congressional trip to Iraq and Germany to study military service members' transition to civilian life.
The three-sentence statement did not contest what airport police had said about the incident. "This is an episode that I regret and hope to move beyond," he said.
Filner earlier had said news reports of the incident were "factually incorrect" and "the charges are ridiculous."
Filner spokeswoman Amy Pond would not say whether Filner would plead guilty to the charges at an Oct. 2 hearing in Loudoun County General District Court. Filner's office has stayed mum since the incident, offering only the two statements and refusing to answer any questions.
Filner, now serving his eighth term, is known for his sometimes-combative temperament. Filner won the Veterans' Affairs Committee gavel only after an unusual runoff election within the full House Democratic Caucus, defeating Rep. Michael H. Michaud of Maine by 112-69. The Dec. 8, 2006, vote confirmed an earlier decision by the Democratic Steering Committee, headed by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., to award the chairmanship to Filner.
Critics have cited his frequent fights with former GOP Chairman Steve Buyer of Indiana, and a profanity-laced tirade last year calling for Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson's resignation and blasting the Bush administration's stewardship of the department.
Filner has taken a more accommodating approach as chairman than he had as the committee's ranking Democrat, but his feud with Buyer still animates committee hearings and floor debates. He has forged a closer bond with Nicholson, however, and expressed disappointment when Nicholson resigned in July.
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