Newly obtained letters contradict Robert F Kennedy Jr’s repeated testimony that his 2019 visit to Samoa had nothing to do with vaccines. In a letter to Samoa’s prime minister before the trip, Kennedy said he wanted his team to study the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine and used “vaccine” or “vaccination” eight times.
Kennedy made the denials during two Senate confirmation hearings. The Department of Health and Human Services says the trip was unrelated to vaccines, but Kennedy was not under oath during the hearings, and HHS did not explain the apparent contradiction when asked.
What the letters say about the planned visit
Kennedy wrote to then-prime minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi that he believed the deaths of two Samoan children after MMR vaccination might have resulted from manufacturing problems. He proposed a “detailed health informatics assessment” to examine what had happened with the vaccines and possible links between vaccination events and health outcomes.
The prime minister replied a month later that Samoa would benefit from the assessment and welcomed Kennedy’s proposed visit. In a separate May 2019 email, Kennedy’s Children’s Health Defense colleague Dr Michael Graven described the team’s travel as a vaccine-related “mission”.
Key points
- Kennedy’s letter was dated 20 January 2019 and was written on Children’s Health Defense letterhead.
- Samoa’s prime minister welcomed an independent assessment of the country’s MMR vaccines.
- The 2019 visit took place before a measles outbreak that killed 83 people in Samoa.
- The Senate confirmed Kennedy by a 52-48 vote.
What Kennedy told the Senate
During questioning by Senators Ron Wyden and Edward Markey, Kennedy repeatedly said the trip had nothing to do with vaccines. He described its purpose as introducing a medical informatics system to digitize records and improve health delivery, while saying that vaccine-related conversations occurred with people he had not intended to meet.
Kennedy also said he had not made public statements about vaccines in Samoa and denied that his visit influenced vaccination decisions. The newly obtained correspondence does not by itself establish whether his testimony met the legal standard for perjury; the hearings were not conducted under oath. For additional context, see “Todd Blanche wins Senate confirmation as US attorney general”.
Why the episode remains politically significant
Kennedy’s visit occurred after Samoa had suspended vaccinations for 10 months following the deaths of two children who received improperly mixed MMR doses. Health officials later said human error, rather than a vaccine problem, caused those deaths. Vaccination rates fell, and a measles outbreak later sickened thousands and killed 83 people, mostly children under five.
Attorneys cited in the reporting said that if Democrats win control of the House or Senate in November’s elections, lawmakers could use Kennedy’s statements as grounds for hearings, an impeachment inquiry or other efforts to challenge the administration. The federal statute of limitations for lying to Congress is five years, according to the material.
What happens next
The Department of Health and Human Services has denied that the letters show Kennedy lied and did not provide an explanation for the contradiction. The White House did not respond to a request for comment.
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