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U.S. Senator Ted Kennedy (D-MA) (L) and Representative Patrick Kennedy (D-MA) listen during Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's address of a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in Washington July 26, 2006. REUTERS/Molly Riley (UNITED STATES)

Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of drugs as a part of an extensive agreement the lawmaker reached with the District of Columbia Office of the Attorney General. “I’ve always said that I wanted to take full responsibility for my actions. Today in court I did just that,” Kennedy said in a brief meeting with reporters after appearing before D.C. Superior Court Magistrate Judge Aida Melendez. “I accepted the consequences of my actions. I’ve cooperated fully with the Capitol Police and with the attorney general’s office. “I think they’ve done a fantastic job. … I...

"Rep. Patrick Kennedy has reached a deal with prosecutors to plead guilty to a charge of driving under the influence of prescription drugs... "

Rhode Island Republicans have received piles of “hate mail” from supporters of U.S. Rep. Patrick J. Kennedy, angry that the GOP has called for the troubled six-term congressman to step down. “This has clearly hit a raw nerve somewhere,” Rhode Island GOP spokesman Chuck Newton told the Herald.“We’ve received mountains of hate mail from all over.” Most of the letters and emails include angry and in some cases obscene tirades blasting party leaders for pushing for Kennedy’s ouster as a result of his legal troubles, Newton said. Republicans initially called for Kennedy to step down the day after he slammed...

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy said Monday he was feeling good after nearly a month in drug rehabilitation and was looking forward to getting back to work. "I can tell you today, I feel confident about my health, positive about my future, and passionate about my work representing the people of Rhode Island," the Rhode Island Democrat said in a speech at Brown University on the future of mental health care and addiction treatment. It was his first public appearance since being released Friday from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. The six-term congressman checked into the clinic...

New York. After his second smash-up in three weeks, Patrick Kennedy was escorted home by obliging cops and to hell with any test for booze or drugs. Tests are for the lower orders, not Kennedys. Chappaquid-ding one’s way out of trouble is in the Kennedy tradition. A smash-up is followed by a cover-up, then by denial of responsibility due to circumstances beyond their control, all neatly presented in a press conference for genuflecting hacks, and then on to rehab. Congressman Kennedy says that he doesn’t remember anything about the crash. He would, wouldn’t he? He was speeding, driving in the...

Patrick Kennedy has been a party animal for quite some time, according to the National Enquirer, which comes up with some never-before-seen photos of the Rhode Island congressman partying like a rock star in the late ’80s and early ’90s. Now there’s a shock . . . . The 38-year-old son of Sen. Ted Kennedy, who just checked himself into rehab for prescription-drug addiction after an early-morning car crash in Washington, D.C., dressed up like disgraced pop star Michael Jackson - complete with blackface - for a party at his father’s Virginia home in 1989. “He applied dark makeup to...

During a briefing with reporters yesterday, Majority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he was aware of Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s (D-R.I,) substance-abuse problem and had “noticed it before.” In response to a question about the handling of Kennedy’s early-morning car accident by the Capitol Police, Boehner indicated that it would be easier to make a judgment when all of the facts are released. He then elaborated on the question, saying he had known of Kennedy’s problem. “For those who have been around here, worked here, he has been fighting this disease for a long time, as has been testified to by...

It can't be argued that the Patrick Kennedy adventure on wheels is being ignored by the media. But part of the coverage has been suffused in a bit of overweening Kennedy-dynasty sympathy. Washington Post reporter/columnist Dana Milbank, who danced a jig of mockery in orange hunter clothes over Dick Cheney's shooting accident, wrote in Saturday's Washington Post about the "miserable character" who suffered after the crash: Kennedy tried to ignore the din of shouted questions as he walked to the door, but he couldn't avoid the woman in the front row who asked if he would resign. He shook his...

It's hard to imagine that Patrick Kennedy would have gotten elected to Congress a dozen years ago without his last name. It's equally hard to imagine that the media would be going wild about his late-night car crash and prescription drug addiction if he weren't a Kennedy. The only lingering mystery is why national news organizations didn't pounce earlier on the Rhode Island Democrat's long history of alcohol and drug abuse, depression and a series of downright embarrassing incidents.

Rhode Island Democrats are expected to endorse Representative Patrick Kennedy for re-election when they meet tonight in West Warwick. Party members will endorse candidates for Congress and the state's top jobs -- governor, secretary of state, general treasurer and attorney general. Kennedy has checked himself into the Mayo Clinic for treatment for addiction to prescription drugs following a Thursday car accident in Washington. He says he can't remember driving to Capitol Hill or crashing his car. Kennedy's doctors say he was taking Phenergan for stomach and intestinal problems and Ambien, a commonly prescribed sleeping medication. Police say he appeared intoxicated.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Rep. Patrick Kennedy was still in college when he took elected office as a state representative. Nearly two decades later, he has spent his entire adult life as a lawmaker. (snip) In Congress, Kennedy has pushed for greater mental health care coverage, citing his own struggles with depression and addiction. (snip) A tennis player and avid reader of biographies and autobiographies, Kennedy has a passion for sailing. "He can go out and be out of the public eye. It's tranquil, and it's something he enjoys," Marcella said. (snip) "He's a warm, nice, optimistic, kind person. That's what...

by Mark Finkelstein May 6, 2006 Let's imagine it was, oh, Karl Rove who had been involved in a car accident under circumstances identical to those surrounding Patrick Kennedy. Think the Today show would be focusing on his 'courage' and largely taking at face value his claim that prescription medicines caused the crash? Or would they be asking another question: was Kennedy telling the truth when he claimed that no alcohol was involved? That 'Today' was in a decidedly forgiving mood was clear from the show's very opening. Note the graphic Today attached to Kennedy's image: "Seeking Treatment". Not "Telling...

Capitol police investigate motive behind story By Casey Ross Saturday, May 6, 2006 - Updated: 02:16 AM EST Police are investigating whether U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy’s bizarre crash-scene story about being late for a 2:45 a.m. vote was a desperate attempt to escape an OUI bust by invoking a law that prevents members of Congress from being arrested while en route to formal sessions, authorities said. Kennedy, who yesterday admitted an addiction to prescription pain medication, told officers upon emerging from his Mustang convertible Thursday morning that he was “late for a vote,” even though formal business had ended hours...

A high-ranking official at the National Fraternal Order of Police cited the mishandling of Rep. Patrick Kennedy's (D-R.I.) car accident Thursday as just one more example of problems the Capitol Police Department is experiencing since Chief Terrance Gainer retired. Jim Pasco, executive director of the National Fraternal Order of Police (FOP), said the fact that no investigation was conducted after Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I) crashed his car into a security barrier at C and First Street SE was unacceptable but symptomatic of the way the Capitol Police Department is being run after Gainer's departure on April 6.Gainer retired after charges...

Patrick Kennedy & Double Standards 05/05 04:37 PM I don't wish anyone ill, except our nation's enemies. It's a good thing that Patrick Kennedy is going back into rehab. But I am very angry. For nearly three years we witnessed the persecution of Rush Limbaugh, who became addicted to painkillers resulting from back and neck problems. We witnessed leaks by prosecutors who spread lies about him being involved in money laundering, drug rings, and doctor shopping. But the media happily repeated them. Some mocked him. Rush got help. He has been clean for years. And in most cases, when someone...

CNN reports Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-RI) will hold a press conference today at 3 p.m. in Washington, D.C. to discuss his recent traffic incident on Capitol Hill.