Representative Patrick Kennedy Cover-Up Watch: Book’M Dano Redux – “He Was Drinking a Little Bit”
*****Scroll Down for Updates*****
House of Representative member Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) delivers a speech in Washington, February 1, 2005. Kennedy, son of Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Kennedy, said on Thursday he was involved in a car crash on Capitol Hill that he blamed on disorientation from prescription medication.
Boston Herald: Pat cites pills in car wreck
U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy insisted yesterday that he had consumed “no alcohol†before he slammed his Mustang convertible into a concrete barrier near his office, but a hostess at a popular Capitol Hill watering hole told the Herald she saw him drinking in the hours before the crash.
“He was drinking a little bit,†said the woman, who works at the Hawk & Dove and would not give her name.
Leaving his office late last night, Kennedy refused to say whether he’d been to the Hawk & Dove the night before.
A green mustang reportedly belonging to Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. is seen on Capitol Hill, Friday, May 5, 2006 The car was apparently involved in an early morning crash Thursday.
Leaving his office late last night, Kennedy refused to say whether he’d been to the Hawk & Dove the night before.
Earlier in the evening, Kennedy issued a statement through his office blaming the accident and strange behavior surrounding it on prescription drugs.
He said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after House votes and took “prescribed†amounts of Phenergan and Ambien.
Phenergan is for gastroenteritis, he said. Ambien is a popular sleep medication.
“Sometime around 2:45 a.m., I drove the few blocks to the Capitol Complex believing I needed to vote,†his second statement said. “Apparently, I was disoriented from the medication.â€
Questions arose surrounding the wreck amid police reports that Kennedy was “staggering†and appeared intoxicated after nearly hitting a Capitol Police cruiser and then striking the barrier.
A pedestrian walks near a barricade on Capitol Hill Thursday, May 4, 2006 where Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I. crashed his car near the barricade early Thursday morning.
The incident became public when the union representing Capitol Police alleged in a publicly released letter that superior officers prevented rank-and-file cops from properly investigating the crash.
The letter from the cops union said police spotted Kennedy’s Mustang swerving with its lights off. The car narrowly missed a cruiser before slamming into a security barricade, according to the letter written by officer Chris Baird, chairman of the department’s union.
The driver exited the vehicle and he was observed to be staggering, Baird’s letter states. The letter also said that Kennedy claimed he was“late to a vote.†The last House vote was taken nearly six hours earlier.
Patrolmen’s union president Lou Cannon told the Associated Press that officers were fuming that police brass intervened and blocked attempts to give Kennedy sobriety tests. “The officers just want to be able to do their jobs,†Cannon said.
Leaving his Capitol Hill office last night, Kennedy told reporters: “I asked for no special treatment.â€
Of course you didn’t ask for it, but, Congressman you received special treatment.
Sir, you are a LIAR!
After Kennedy responded to the swelling scandal with his first letter, a Herald reporter visisted bars where Kennedy is known to socialize.
A bartender at the Tune Inn, which is next to the Hawk & Dove, also said Kennedy was spotted in the Hawk & Dove Wednesday.
Hawk & Dove manager Edgar Gutierrez said Kennedy is a regular in the bar. Gutierrez said he was working Wednesday night but did not see the congressman.
Kennedy, who has battled booze and drug problems in the past, said in his first statement: “I will fully cooperate with the Capitol Police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake.â€
Despite the wreck, Kennedy took part in normal business at the Capitol yesterday and appeared unshaken by the incident as he chatted with other members. But one Rhode Island political insider said there has been talk of Kennedy’s bizarre behavior of late.
“He has looked terrible lately,†the source said. “He’s been acting goofy, kind of zany.â€
In addition to seeking substance abuse treatment as a teen, Kennedy has acknowledged being diagnosed with bipolar disorder.
First, it was Representative Cynthia McKinney and now Patrick Kennedy.
Can’t these LIBERAL MORONS take responsibility for their own actions?
Congressman, you should turn yourself in, plead guilty and serve your time. And…..the voters of Rhode Island……
FIND ANOTHER CONGRESSMAN!
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Update #1
ASSociated Press: Police Report Filed in Kennedy Car Crash
Rep. Patrick Kennedy received three “notices of infractions” in connection with his early morning car crash near the Capitol, according to a police report.
The report by a U.S. Capitol Police officer said Kennedy drove his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a security barrier near the Capitol shortly before 3 a.m. Thursday, and that Kennedy had red, watery eyes, slurred speech and unsteady balance.
Kennedy, 40, told the officer he was “headed to the Capitol to make a vote,” the report said. It said he failed to keep in proper lane, traveled at “unreasonable speed” and failed to “give full time and attention” to operating his vehicle.
Kennedy spokeswoman Robin Costello acknowledged that the police report was filed, but said “we have no knowledge of any citations.” Kennedy aides received the accident report Friday morning at his congressional office, said Costello, who is Kennedy’s spokeswoman in Rhode Island.
Capitol Police had no comment Friday beyond a statement posted on their Web site, said spokeswoman Sgt. Kimberly Schneider. That statement said, “The United States Capitol Police are continuing to investigate.”
The Congressman better come CLEAN and QUICK. His LIES are not going to be forgotten. He is a Kennedy but NOT his father.
Watch for the mental illness angle to be played next.
Stay tuned…….
Blogosphere:
Michelle Malkin: THE KENNEDY LICENSE
Betsy Newsmark scrutinizes the Captiol Hill police officials’ treatment of Rep. Pat Kennedy.
Brian Maloney covers talk radio coverage of the story and NYTimes’ burial of the case.
Brian at Influence Peddler wonders.
Lifelike Pundits diagnoses “A culture of car crash cover-ups.”
Thomas Lifson at The American Thinker weighs in on Kennedy and Cynthia McKinney.
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