By Amy Argetsinger and Roxanne Roberts
Friday, March 31, 2006

After hours of silence, it was nearly midnight Wednesday before Rep. Cynthia McKinney put out a statement about her scuffle with a Capitol Police officer that day. The Georgia Democrat said she regretted the "unfortunate confrontation" that occurred when the officer did not recognize her at a checkpoint and she allegedly jabbed him with her cellphone.

But McKinney, who recently swapped her braids for a shorter do, also admitted that she was not wearing the pin that identifies her as a member of Congress entitled to bypass Hill security checks. Why not? John Judge , a McKinney staffer, said that "a number of the women [in Congress] don't wear the pin, and some men don't either. . . . They train [officers] to recognize the members. It's not just the pin."

A similar sentiment was expressed in what Atlanta station WSB-TV described as McKinney's "original" statement, which she decided against releasing. "It is . . . a shame that while I conduct the country's business, I have to stop and call the police to tell them that I've changed my hairstyle so that I'm not harassed at work."

McKinney also released a snippet from a documentary in which she is seen being greeted with a warm hug by a black officer -- then stopped by a white officer asking for ID. "That's just the typical kind of treatment that I receive," McKinney said on the video. "Some things never change -- that's what Tupac said."

Throngs of desperate women clamored outside a bathroom stall occupied by Geraldo Rivera at the Washington Hilton Tuesday night -- not crazed fans, alas, just overflow from ladies room gridlock after the big Radio & Television Correspondents' dinner, a witness said. As the Fox correspondent emerged, a man trying to direct traffic announced: "Ladies, we now have a stall once used by Geraldo Rivera! Any takers?"

When supermodels attack! Naomi Campbell was arrested in NYC yesterday for allegedly hitting her housekeeper with a telephone. A spokesman for the model told the AP the staffer's claims were trumped up to get revenge after being fired.

Patti LaBelle denies she had a breakdown at a Florida concert Saturday. The R&B diva told Tom Joyner on his radio show yesterday that she urged fans to leave because she feared it was too late and cold for them; she said she mentioned her health problems from the stage only by way of proclaiming, "I'm fierce and this wind isn't going to stop me." No explanation for the reported onstage sobbing.

A week after film crews rolled through town to shoot a TV pilot about young hottie D.C. lawyers ("Capitol Law"), yet another crew has arrived to shoot a pilot about . . . young hottie D.C. bureaucrats.

"Twenty Questions," being filmed for ABC, is the story of a State Department staffer who discovers a conspiracy against the United States. He's played by Jesse Bradford , star of teentastic flicks "Swimfan" and "Bring It On." Our colleague Korin Miller stalked him to shoots in Kalorama and on the Mall, reporting that he cut a handsome figure in a tailored suit but -- brace yourself! -- is shorter in person. "Twenty Questions" also features pretty young things Ben Shenkman , China Shavers and William Lee Scott .

Seller: The family of late singer Wilson Pickett

Asking price: $1,071,000

Details: The legendary soul man paid $452,000 when he settled into this four-bedroom house in Ashburn's Regency subdivision in Loudoun County in 1998. His heirs hope to double the investment. With a "gourmet" kitchen, rec room with wet bar, and 5,000 square feet of space, 21867 Hyde Park Dr. is a house "built for entertaining," says selling agent Phyllis Mentzer. She'll host an open house Sunday, 1-5 p.m. Gawkers can also check out the singer's beloved Stutz Bearcat car, his grand piano and other items to be sold off at a future estate sale.

Back during the heady days of the 2000 George W. Bush campaign, new White House Chief of Staff Josh Bolten was known as a cool, efficient policy director, and the go-to man when actress-turned-Republican-gadfly Bo Derek -- the woman who inspired the numerical system of hotness ratings -- needed a campaign escort.

When Bolten turned 46 that August, Dubya refused to believe his staffer had received a "Happy Birthday" phone call from the star of "10" and many legendary Playboy features -- until he grabbed Bolten's cell phone and dialed the number from the last received call, according to a source who was there. When Derek answered, the future president said, "Bo, let me just say that you and Josh together are a perfect 15."