Kennedy Spied At Bar Before Crash?

That's the word on the street.

Capitol police in Washington, D.C., investigating U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy's early-morning car wreck have been told by witnesses that the Rhode Island congressman was at a Capitol Hill bar before the crash, the Herald has learned.

A source close to the probe said witnesses have told detectives that Kennedy was at the Hawk & Dove before he slammed his Ford Mustang into a security barrier near the U.S. Capitol. The source added that cops are continuing to seek evidence to confirm that Kennedy was at the watering hole.

No doubt they're looking for a bar tab or other circumstantial evidence that would put Rep. Kennedy at the bar. Considering that Kennedy changed his story numerous times, but always seemed to find a way to deny that alcohol played any role, if this evidence plays out, it should seriously undermine his credibility.

However, Rhode Island Democrats appear to have no problem with their representatives being drunk or under the influence because they went ahead and backed him despite having two accidents in the span of a couple of weeks that were both under suspicious circumstances.

Kennedy is currently seeking treatment at the Mayo Clinic.

Allah at Hot Air wonders why Kennedy was even at the bar in the first place and considers if Kennedy needed something to wash down the drugs he claims he was taking.

Curiously, police are still trying to track down the mysterious woman who Kennedy claims he was with before the crash. No doubt that there will be talk of a one-armed man, crop circles, and a major conspiracy to hide the 'truth.'

UPDATE:
Anonymous emailer points out this Washington Post story that notes that the District of Columbia has a zero tolerance DUI policy.

As D.C. police officer Dennis Fair, who arrested Bolton on May 15, put it in an interview recently: "If you get behind the wheel of a car with any measurable amount of alcohol, you will be dealt with in D.C. We have zero tolerance. . . . Anything above .01, we can arrest."

Neither the police department nor the attorney general's office keeps detailed records of how many people with low blood alcohol levels are arrested. But last year, according to police records, 321 people were arrested for driving under the influence with blood alcohol levels below the legal limit of .08. In 2003, 409 people were arrested.

Although low blood alcohol arrests have been made in other states in conjunction with dangerous driving, lawyers, prosecutors and advocates of drunken driving prevention said they knew of no place besides the District that had such a low threshold for routine DUI arrests. In Maryland and Virginia, as in other states, drivers generally are presumed not to be intoxicated if they test below .05. Nationwide, .08 is the legal limit -- meaning a driver is automatically presumed to be intoxicated.

Fair acknowledged that many people aren't aware of the District's policy. "But it is our law," he said. "If you don't know about it, then you're a victim of your own ignorance."

And for all that, Rep. Kennedy was not arrested despite the officers noting the smell of alcohol on his person and the eyewitness claims which would buttress a claim of DUI.

UPDATE:
Ace of Spades reminds me of why I should leave humor to the experts - he thinks that the police should be looking for the following women: Brandy, Chivas, and Colt 45.

Now that I got the idea, here's a few more that should be examined more closely: Stella, Corona, and St. Pauli.

Technorati: patrick kennedy, misconduct, capitol police, dui.