Thursday, June 10, 2010

Who Wants The Late Sen. Kennedy's FBI File?

Judicial Watch does. But the family "will be given a rare opportunity to raise objections before the public disclosure of thousands of pages of the late Massachusetts senator’s exhaustive and secret FBI file..."

Ya, I bet.

The Boston Globe notes that there are “no formal guidelines” for consulting the Kennedy family on the release of the documents. Decisions will be made on a case by case basis. However, “Embarrassing information about Kennedy…could be withheld if the bureau doubts its factual basis, it is part of an ongoing investigation, or officials determine there is no reasonable need for the public to know it. In addition, the family, possibly on the advice of its lawyers, could persuade the FBI to remove it.” Obama “pay czar” Kenneth Feinberg is reportedly representing the Kennedy family in the matter.

“Senator Kennedy was one of the most controversial and scandal-ridden politicians in U.S. history and there are important lessons to learn from the legacy of corruption he left behind. The FBI must be transparent in its communications with the Kennedy family so the American people can be certain there is no corruption in the disclosure process. We fear that Kennedy’s file is being scrubbed. The FBI should lean towards the presumption of disclosure as FOIA law requires,” stated Judicial Watch President Tom Fitton.


Sunlight is the best disinfectant. Exposing Kennedy's legacy of corruption would be a great disincentive for lawmakers to engage in corruption now. Covering up for him only encourages politicians to misbehave because they know they can get away with it.

Just like bailouts create a moral hazard.

The odds are virtually zero that this corrupt government would allow itself to be exposed in this way. But props to Judicial Watch for trying.

Just repeal the 17th Amendment and get all these corrupt demagogues out of the Senate.

Addendum: Judicial Watch did manage to get an FBI file revealing ACORN's corruption of the electoral process.

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