Senator Ron Wyden of Oregon is calling for a criminal investigation into US Health Secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr after newly obtained records contradicted his testimony during Senate confirmation hearings last year. The records, obtained by the Guardian and the Associated Press following a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, indicate Kennedy misled Congress about the purpose of his 2019 trip to Samoa.
Records contradict Kennedy's testimony
During two confirmation hearings last year, Wyden and Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts questioned Kennedy about the trip, which occurred while he was leading an anti-vaccine group. Kennedy testified that his visit had "nothing to do with vaccines." However, the newly obtained letters show Kennedy explicitly told the Samoan prime minister he wanted to study the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the Pacific island nation, using the words "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times.
Wyden said in a statement to the Guardian that he would press Republican colleagues, who currently control the Senate, to issue a criminal referral of Kennedy to the Department of Justice. "RFK's platform is built on lies and grifts that leave a trail of dead children in their wake. There are consequences for lying to Congress," he said. Wyden serves as the top Democrat on the finance committee.
Democratic officials demand action
Also on Thursday, the government watchdog group American Oversight sent a letter to the justice department requesting an immediate investigation into whether Kennedy violated the law by making false statements to Congress. Other Democratic officials called for Kennedy to be removed or to leave office.
Markey said the records show it was false when Kennedy said his trip had "nothing to do with vaccines." "This is a pattern, not a slip. RFK Jr has lied to the Senate, lied to the American people and jeopardized the health of children to advance his anti-vaccine agenda," he said. "He should never have been confirmed, and he cannot be trusted to run [the Department of Health and Human Services] for even one more day."
Potential legal and political consequences
Angela Alsobrooks of Maryland, a member of the Senate health, education, labor and pensions committee, repeated her call for Kennedy to resign or be fired. Hawaii's governor, Josh Green, a medical doctor who traveled to Samoa to help in the measles response in 2019, also called for him to step down. "It is clear that Kennedy misled Congress about his intentions in Samoa and his stance on vaccinations during his confirmation hearings two years ago. It is time for him to immediately resign," Green said. "He must do this for the safety and health of our country."
The measles outbreak in Samoa months after Kennedy's visit sickened thousands and killed 83 people, mostly children under five. Josh Chafetz, a professor of law and politics at Georgetown University Law Center, said, "Lying to Congress is a crime, whether or not the witness is under oath. But this would require the executive branch to prosecute, and Trump's [justice department] is unlikely to do so."
Attorneys with expertise in Senate procedure said that if Democrats win control of the House or Senate in November's elections, they could use Kennedy's statements as grounds for hearings or an impeachment inquiry, or to create other obstacles for the Trump administration. The federal statute of limitations for lying to Congress is five years, meaning a new justice department under the next president in 2029 could theoretically investigate the case.
The Guardian sought comment from the Department of Health and Human Services about the Democratic officials' calls for investigation or removal, but it did not immediately respond. In a previously issued statement, it said Kennedy's visit to Samoa "was unrelated to vaccines. Any claim or insinuation based on these letters that Secretary Kennedy lied under oath or to Congress is not only false but outright defamatory." Kennedy was not under oath during the two confirmation hearings, though Wyden's staff said this is not relevant since it is a crime to lie during a confirmation hearing either way.
