In July of 1969, Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge and left his female passenger to die. She did die, and Kennedy failed to report the accident until the following afternoon. Kennedy entered into a confidential settlement with the girl's family. He ran for the senate in 1970 and again in 1976, and for the presidency in 1980 (11 years after killing Mary Jo Kopechne). To my knowledge, no reporter ever asked Kennedy to lift the confidentiality so that Americans could see what he paid, and so that Americans could hear from the Kopechne family.
Sometime in the late 1990s, Herman Cain allegedly sexually harrassed women who were then paid settlements and were obligated--like the Kopechne family--to agree to confidentiality. Reporters have pressed Cain aand the NRA to lift the confidentiality obligations so that the accusers can talk and so that Americans can know the terms of the settlements. I whole-heartedly support these requests.
The press should have made the same requests of Ted Kennedy while it had the chance.
Father
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