Kennedy pleads guilty to DUI in plea deal

Accompanied by his lawyer, the son of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., entered his plea Tuesday afternoon before District of Columbia Superior Court Magistrate Judge Aida Melendez.

"I am pleading guilty to driving under the influence,” he said.

Melendez ordered Kennedy to undergo court-monitored drug treatment and pay $350 — $250 of which would go to the Boys and Girls Club of Greater Washington, and $100 to a crime victims’ fund. She also gave Kennedy a 10-day jail sentence that was suspended unless he violates probation, and she ordered him to serve 50 hours of community service with the boys and girls club.

"I’ve always said that I wanted to accept full responsibility for my actions,” Kennedy told reporters outside the courthouse. "Today in court, I did just that. I accepted the consequences of my actions. I look forward today to moving on to the next chapter in my life.”

Kennedy was joined in court by Rep. Jim Ramstad, R-Minn., who is his sponsor in Alcoholics Anonymous. Ramstad said he’d had a "wake-up call” similar to Kennedy’s several years ago.

"I’m grateful he has accepted his addiction and he is going to be just fine one day at a time,” Ramstad said.

D.C. Attorney General Robert Spagnoletti issued a statement saying Kennedy "has been treated like any other citizen found guilty of driving under the influence,” and is expected to honor the terms of his probation.

Under the plea deal, Kennedy must attend weekly meetings of Alcoholics Anonymous and a recovery group facilitated by his physician, Dr. Ronald Smith. He must check in with Ramstad once a week and submit to random urine screenings for drug abuse.

Kennedy also has to meet regularly with a "qualified psychiatrist to monitor mood symptoms, anxiety and use of psychotropic prescription medications,” according to court documents.

Because of his guilty plea, Kennedy’s driving privileges will be revoked in D.C. for six months, an aide said. Kennedy has notified Rhode Island registry officials of his plea and expects his Rhode Island license will also be suspended, the aide said.

Kennedy returned to Congress last week after nearly a month of treatment for addiction to prescription pain drugs at the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota.

The six-term congressman, who has struggled with addiction since high school, entered the clinic one day after the May 4 crash on Capitol Hill that he said he could not remember.

The accident has raised questions about whether Kennedy, 38, was drinking and had received special treatment by police, who did not conduct field sobriety tests. He has denied consuming alcohol before the crash.

In the hours before the crash, Kennedy said he returned home from work and took a sleeping pill, Ambien, and Phenergan, a prescription anti-nausea drug that can cause drowsiness. He said he did not consume alcohol and has denied ever seeking special treatment.

Kennedy crashed his green 1997 Ford Mustang convertible into a security barrier near the Capitol about 2:47 a.m. The officer listed alcohol influence as a contributing factor in the crash and noted that Kennedy was "ability impaired,” with red, watery eyes, slurred speech and unsteady balance, according to the accident report.

Kennedy told the police officer he was "headed to the Capitol to make a vote,” the report said. He was cited for failure to keep in the proper lane, traveling at "unreasonable speed” and failing to "give full time and attention” to operating his vehicle.

Kennedy’s office has said that it has not received those initial citations.

Police did not conduct field sobriety tests on Kennedy. The officers involved in the accident were instructed by a superior to take the congressman home, Rubenstein said. Kennedy initially directed the officers to the wrong Capitol Hill address and spent several minutes in vain trying to unlock a gate before he was taken to his home, Rubenstein told the court.<