Newly released FBI files show that the late U.S. Senator Edward "Ted' Kennedy, the patriarch of America's most famous political family, received death threats throughout his 47-year political career.
The bureau released more than 2,200 pages of documents Monday containing material about FBI investigations into threats of violence and extortion claims against the liberal Democratic Party icon, along with details of other activities from his career.
Senator Kennedy died from brain cancer last August at the age of 77 in Massachusetts.
The files describe a death threat the senator received in October 1968, which identified an exact date he would be "Kennedy number three" to be assassinated. Kennedy's older brothers, President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert Kennedy, were each assassinated - President Kennedy on November 22, 1963, and Senator Robert Kennedy on June 6, 1968.
Another investigation in 1985 involved a threat to kill both Senator Ted Kennedy and then-President Ronald Reagan. It was determined that the person involved in that threat was not competent to stand trial.
The files also show correspondence between Senator Kennedy's father, Joseph Kennedy, and then-FBI director J. Edgar Hoover regarding rumors that Ted Kennedy had associated with members of the Communist Party.
Hoover assured the elder Kennedy the FBI had conducted no investigation into the claims and had no information to support them.
Some information for this report was provided by AP and Reuters.
