Kennedy Family Will Review 3,000 Pages of Ted Kennedy’s Secret F.B.I. File Before Its Release

by Juli Weiner April 12, 2010, 1:00 PM

The F.B.I. is preparing to release 3,000 pages of its secret Ted Kennedy file. However, as much of the information contained therein could pertain to living Kennedys, family members will have the opportunity to petition to prevent the release of any documents they deem to be an invasion of privacy. “In certain circumstances [such as] the family of victims of crimes or, as in this case . . . a public official, [the FBI] may coordinate the release of certain material with the family,’’ a Bureau spokesman told The Boston Globe. He added, “But the reason [for objecting] can’t simply be that it is embarrassing.’’

According to theGlobe, journalists and historians are hoping that documents will shed light on any death threats or plots against Senator Kennedy, or maybe—fingers crossed—reveal new information about Kennedy’s the car accident on Chappaquiddick in which Robert Kennedy’s secretary, Mary Jo Kopechne, was killed after Ted Kennedy drove off a bridge. (Ted Kennedy did not report the incident after it happened, inspiring all sorts of imaginative renderings from conspiracy theorists—really hard-boiled pre-Internet conspiracy theorists.)

While the 3,000 pages represent only a portion of the complete file, Kennedyphilics and phobics should keep their expectations in check: the death of Michael Jackson saw a similar flurry of newly public F.B.I. documents, but “despite monitoring Jackson for more than a decade, the files don’t contain any major revelations about the late pop singer’s private life,â€