NEW YORK — Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. consistently informed lawmakers, who played a pivotal role in his confirmation last year, that his 2019 trip to Samoa, which occurred before a severe measles outbreak, had “nothing to do with vaccines.”
Newly obtained documents by The Associated Press and The Guardian contradict that assertion.
At that time, Kennedy was a leading figure in the anti-vaccine movement and had sent a letter to the Samoan prime minister expressing a desire to examine the country’s measles, mumps, and rubella vaccines following the deaths of two children who had received them. In his letter, he mentioned the terms vaccine or vaccination eight times.
These revelations cast doubt on Kennedy’s accuracy during his congressional testimony. Throughout a challenging confirmation process requiring support from some skeptical Republican lawmakers, Kennedy also committed to upholding vaccine policies that he later adjusted after taking office.
In his letter, Kennedy wrote, “I am writing this letter to you in the hope that we might be helpful to the people of your great nation,” suggesting that the children’s deaths could have stemmed from manufacturing defects.
He continued, “I would propose my team conduct detailed health informatics assessment in Samoa of what happened with your MMR vaccines.”
The Department of Health and Human Services responded to inquiries from the AP by stating the Samoa visit “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,” the department stated, clarifying that Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing. Providing false information to Congress is a criminal offense that may result in imprisonment, whether or not the individual is under oath, although prosecutions are rare.
The HHS did not facilitate an interview with Kennedy, and the White House did not comment. The office of the Samoan prime minister and the former prime minister who communicated with Kennedy also did not respond to requests for comments.
Kennedy’s trip to Samoa has become a highly controversial event in his career. At that time, he led a nonprofit known for its anti-vaccine activities. Critics argue that the visit heightened anti-vaccine sentiment in Samoa, which subsequently experienced a measles outbreak that resulted in 83 deaths, mainly among children under five.
Some attorneys have suggested that Kennedy’s statements could justify hearings, investigations, or even an impeachment inquiry. However, such proceedings are unlikely with the current Republican-led Congress aligned with President Trump’s administration.
Massachusetts Sen. Edward Markey and Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, both Democrats who questioned Kennedy about his Samoa trip during the confirmation hearings, accused him of lying.
Wyden, the leading Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, announced plans to urge Republicans to refer the case to the Justice Department and vowed to hold Kennedy accountable if Democrats regain control of the Senate in the upcoming elections.
“There are consequences for lying to Congress,” he stated.
Kennedy repeatedly denied vaccines were the reason for his trip
At the onset of Trump’s second term, Kennedy, a known anti-vaccine advocate, faced significant challenges in his bid to become the nation’s health secretary. Lawmakers from both parties criticized his anti-vaccine stance, and during confirmation hearings, he attempted to reassure them of his support for childhood vaccination.
The Samoa trip also drew scrutiny.
Kennedy told senators that his visit to Samoa did not sway people’s vaccination decisions.
On multiple occasions, he categorically denied that vaccines were the purpose of his trip.
When questioned by Wyden, Kennedy responded: “I went there, nothing to do with vaccines. I went there to introduce a medical informatics system that would digitalize records in Samoa and make health delivery much more efficient.”
The next day, when Markey inquired, Kennedy stated: “My purpose in going down there had nothing to do with vaccines.”
Upon further questioning, Kennedy reiterated that vaccines were not the trip’s focus, adding, “My purpose in the trip was not to — I ended up having conversations with people, some of whom I never intended to meet.”
Ultimately, Kennedy secured crucial backing from Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana physician who leads the Senate health committee and is a strong vaccination advocate. The Senate approved Kennedy’s appointment by a 52-48 vote.
Cassidy stated his vote to confirm Kennedy was based on assurances that certain vaccine policies and guidance would remain unchanged. For instance, he cited Kennedy’s promise to retain a vaccine advisory committee “without changes.” Once in office, however, Kennedy dismissed all 17 members of the committee and appointed his own advisers.
Cassidy acknowledged that Kennedy had broken his trust.
“The commitments that were made to me have been violated,” Cassidy said on CBS’s “Face the Nation” in June.
Letters reveal Kennedy’s interest in Samoa’s MMR vaccine use
For years, Kennedy served as the chair and chief legal counsel of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group renowned for its anti-vaccine stance. The group focused on Samoa in July 2018 after two young children died from a tainted MMR vaccine that was improperly prepared. The two nurses involved faced criminal charges the following month and ultimately pleaded guilty to manslaughter.
The Samoan government stopped all vaccinations for 10 months, until April 2019, causing vaccination rates to plummet.
During this period, CHD began reaching out to the Samoan government, as revealed in emails previously obtained by the AP and the Guardian through a State Department lawsuit aided by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.
The newly obtained letter from Kennedy, also disclosed through the lawsuit and dated January 20, 2019, was addressed to then-Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, outlining his intention to study Samoa’s MMR vaccine usage.
Kennedy speculated that the deaths in Samoa might have resulted from issues with different vaccine lots. On CHD letterhead, he proposed a “detailed health informatics assessment” to determine if this was the case.
He expressed his belief that it is generally challenging and time-consuming worldwide to investigate “adverse health events associated with vaccines,” noting that health information systems are rarely equipped to swiftly analyze connections “between diagnoses and specific vaccination events.”
The letter did not explicitly mention anti-vaccine activities.
The prime minister responded a month later, indicating that Samoa would benefit from CHD’s assessment.
“It is certainly beneficial for Samoa to have the benefit of your Team’s independent health assessment of our MMR Vaccines and I would welcome with much anticipation your Team’s proposed visit to our islands,” he wrote.
CHD did not respond to a request for comment.
Kennedy, along with his wife, actor Cheryl Hines, and Michael Graven, a CHD colleague, traveled to Samoa in May and June that year. By then, vaccinations had resumed, and Samoa’s top health official stated that human error, not a vaccine issue, caused the children’s deaths.
While in Samoa, Kennedy met with anti-vaccine activists, including one who helped organize the trip with a U.S. Embassy employee, according to reports by the AP and the Guardian.
Months later, with vaccination rates still perilously low, a measles outbreak ensued, affecting thousands.
Public health experts have asserted that their efforts to combat the outbreak were hindered by anti-vaccine activists, some of whom they believe were emboldened by Kennedy’s visit.
The AP and the Guardian previously reported that State Department and UNICEF officials privately discussed that the trip was about vaccines.
— Ali Swenson
