May 4th, 2006 4:43 pm
Several weeks ago, Rhode Island Democrat and son of Ted Kennedy, Patrick Kennedy, received stitches after accidentally being hit in the mouth with a hammer during a meeting.
It appears he may have again been “hammered”, but this time in a very different sort of way.
He was involved in a car crash early Thursday morning, the second such crash in two weeks.
Here’s his second statement made on this latest wreck:
Kennedy said he returned to his Capitol Hill home on Wednesday evening after a final series of votes in Congress and took “prescribed” amounts of Phenergan and Ambien, another prescribed drug that he occasionally takes to fall asleep.
“Some time 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.”
Kennedy appeared to be intoxicated when he crashed his Ford Mustand into a barrier on Capitol Hill early Thursday morning, said Louis P. Cannon, president of the Washington chapter of the Fraternal Order of Police.
So he believed he needed to vote at 2:45 a.m. this morning? Move along people, nothing to see here but a hard-working representative rushing to the Capitol to register the position of his contituents on an important legislative issue. Give me a break!
Here’s the likely real reason he claimed he was heading to a vote:
Article 1, Section 6: The Senators and Representatives shall receive a compensation for their services, to be ascertained by law, and paid out of the treasury of the United States. They shall in all cases, except treason, felony and breach of the peace, be privileged from arrest during their attendance at the session of their respective Houses, and in going to and returning from the same; and for any speech or debate in either House, they shall not be questioned in any other place.
It was an attempt to avoid arrest.
Cannon, who was not there, said the officers involved in the accident were instructed by an official “above the rank of patrolman” to take Kennedy home
No sobriety tests were conducted at the scene.
Big surprise. Mary Jo Kopechne still unavailable for comment.
From Michelle Malkin:
Officers Claim Brass Interfered in Investigation of Rep. Kennedy Incident, ROLL CALL reports… MORE… Police labor union officials asked acting Chief Christopher McGaffin this afternoon to allow a Capitol Police officer to complete his investigation into an early-morning car crash involving Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.).
According to a letter sent by Officer Greg Baird, acting chairman of the USCP FOP, the wreck took place at approximately 2:45 a.m. Thursday when Kennedy’s car, operating with its running lights turned off, narrowly missed colliding with a Capitol Police cruiser and smashed into a security barricade at First and C streets Southeast.
Michelle calls reader’s attention to Patrick’s signature on the police report (note: this was the police report from the first crash):
One of her readers says:
In spite of what the officer wrote, there is no way an unimpaired person writes like that.
Well, I found a copy of Patrick Kennedy’s signature on one of his old campaign websites:
What do you think?
WRKO’s Howie Carr has the police report from the other crash. Here’s Kennedy’s response to that wreck:
Reacting to some media reports, Kennedy said he was not under the influence of alcohol when he crashed the green Mustang.
“I consumed no alcohol prior to the incident. I will fully cooperate with the Capitol police in whatever investigation they choose to undertake,” Kennedy said through Costello.
Apparently being a Kennedy means you’re above the law. In 2000, the same Patrick Kennedy went “Cynthia McKinney” on an LAX security officer.
At what point will this guy ever be held accountable for his actions?
Update: A witness says he was drinking.
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.
My first thoughts are that he is being very calculated with his “no alcohol” statement. It could be that he was just under the influence of the drugs he admitted taking. But if this witness is right, it would be a big deal.
Update 2: Looks like he’ll Enter De Mayo on Cinco de Mayo.
But here’s the scary part:
Kennedy said he had no recollection of the crash. “I simply do not remember getting out of bed, being pulled over by the police or being cited for three driving infractions.”
Addiction is truly a sad thing, and I sympathize with him on that issue. That being said, he must resign. If his addiction can lead him to be completely unaware of getting out of bed, walking to his car, unlocking the door, putting the key in the ignition, shifting into drive, pushing the gas pedal, operating the steering wheel and driving for any distance… then one would wonder how often he legislates under the same drug-induced stupor.
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ANOTHER KENNEDY COVER-UP?
***scroll for updates…report of another Kennedy crash two weeks ago in Rhode Island…an interesting observation below about Kennedy’s “going for a vote” excuse…video: Roll Call reporter…*** ***1000pm EDT update…Kennedy blames sleep medicati…
Trackback by Michelle Malkin — 8:41 pm
Rep. Patrick Kennedy Crashes Car On Way To 2:45 AM House Vote? Riiiiiiight…
***SCROLL FOR UPDATES*** Well, at least Congressman Pat Kennedy’s accident and cover-up didn’t result in the death of a woman, like his father Senator Ted Kennedy’s incident did over 35 years ago. But poor young Patrick did have to endure…
Trackback by RightWinged.com — 12:16 am
Kennedy Car Crash Coverup?
Like father like son? The Blogosphere is going wild with this one folks! The jokes are going to be too easy.
Via Drudge
Officers Claim Brass Interfered in Investigation of Rep. Kennedy Incident, ROLL CALL reports… MORE… Police labor …
Trackback by Stop The ACLU — 7:38 am
You should clarify that image of the police report PDF is from the crash two weeks ago. The way you present it is confusing. You refer to the police report of the crash two weeks ago seperately.
Comment by w3 — 8:11 am
Damage Control
Okay, there have been other reports of individuals taking Ambien and having incidents not altogether different than what Kennedy experienced. That doesn’t excuse the fact that he wasn’t completely forthcoming in his first public statement addressing …
Trackback by A Blog For All — 9:35 am
Is Congress Above the Law?
The lesson here is that a good many of our elected officials are taking advantage of the public trust while creating a ruling class of family and friends who have too much influence on American policy. This is not the way it is supposed to be.
…
Trackback by Webloggin — 9:38 am
even with no alcohol present, he is still driving under the influence if he is on stuff like Ambien and phenergan.
If this were the Bush twins, the MSM would have a field day!
Comment by Pamela — 12:41 pm
I like how congressmen can get away with murder, but the little people get the book thrown at them for the least infraction. It should be the other way around. They are the leaders of our country, and we should be able to hold them to a higher standard.
Comment by It Figures — 1:21 pm
No alcohol for Pat Kennedy- Just pills
Although even that is now in doubt as well.
While continues to insist he had no alcohol a witness has suggested otherwise. And Pat himself has admitted that he had taken Ambien, a sleeping pill. One wonders why he was driving with a friggin…
Trackback by Leaning Straight Up — 1:59 pm
Background info: According to two independent sources, Kennedy probably lied about not using alcohol:
Capital Police incident report states Kennedy under influence of alcohol
Bar hostess says Kennedy drinking that night
As I’ve pointed out elsewhere, if he lied to the police about this, that was obstruction of justice.
However, there is a much more serious side to this.
Kennedy told officers he was going to a House vote at 2:45 AM. As you may be aware, the U.S. Constitution protects Members of Congress from being arrested or detained by the police in most circumstances providing they are going to or from the House to vote. This is to protect from interference in the Democratic process by the administration or police.
He lied to the Capital Police officers and told them he was on his way to a vote at 2:45 AM… when there was no vote… which may have caused the Capital Police to confer with higher-ups and the higher-ups to order not to arrest Kennedy because of the U.S. Constitution… is Kennedy guilty of obstruction of justice: a felony?
If I was on a jury, I’d have to conclude he was.
He’s trying to escape legal jeopardy.
Q. Why did he lie about his drinking to the officers if he did so?
A. Obstruction of justice.
Q. Why did he lie about going to a vote at 2:45 AM if he wasn’t?
A. Abusing his power as a Congressman to subvert the U.S. Constitution and obstruct justice.
So now he’s saying he wasn’t drinking, but he was abusing prescription drugs. This despite the two previous sources I cited that state he was either “under the influence of alcohol” (the cops) or “drinking” (bar hostess).
And Kennedy’s own statement said that he took precisely the prescribed amount of his prescription drugs and no more.
His statements have changed multiple times, but it’s his actions that night, which were in my opinion felonious.
If it walks like abusing his power to subvert the U.S. Constitution and obstruction of justice and if it talks like abusing his power to subvert the U.S. Constitution and obstruction of justice, it’s a duck.
Comment by Chris from Victoria, BC — 3:33 pm
Not only did Kennedy abuse his power, in my opinion those that make the laws should be held to at least the same standard as “We the People”.
You don’t think any of us would have simply gotten a ride home do you?
Comment by Katablog.com — 4:59 pm