See must read story below from The Guardian. Reaction from Brad Woodhouse, President of Protect Our Care:
“These unearthed emails confirm what we already knew: RFK Jr. exploited a tragedy in Samoa to spread anti-vax conspiracies online, refused to correct the record when he was proven wrong, then directly meddled with measles response efforts on the ground. Kennedy got kids killed as a result, then lied through his teeth about it under oath to Congress.”
For additional background information, see Protect Our Care’s December 2024 report, ‘Misinformation Kills: RFK Jr.’s Deadly Visit to Samoa’
The Guardian, 2/9: RFK Jr misled Senate during confirmation, Congress members and Hawaii governor say
Newly revealed emails undermine Kennedy’s testimony about 2019 Samoa trip ahead of deadly measles outbreak
Three members of Congress say US health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jr lied during his Senate confirmation hearings in response to newly revealed emails that undermine his testimony that a trip he took to Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak had “nothing to do with vaccines”.
The governor of Hawaii, a medical doctor who responded to the crisis, also spoke out – saying that the disclosure of the emails by the Guardian and the Associated Press show Kennedy misled the Senate and that he should step down.
Kennedy, a lawyer and longtime anti-vaccine activist before his appointment as health secretary, was asked about the trip several times during two days of confirmation hearings last year. He repeatedly denied that his reason for going there in June 2019 had anything to do with vaccines. But the records show staff at the US embassy and the United Nations wrote emails shortly before Kennedy’s visit saying he was visiting because of his concerns about vaccine safety.
Samoan officials later said Kennedy’s trip bolstered the credibility of anti-vaccine activists ahead of the measles outbreak that sickened thousands and killed 83 people, mostly children under age five.
The new reporting comes after a year in which Kennedy has used his power as health secretary to remake federal vaccine recommendations and policies to align with his anti-vaccine views and to sow doubts about vaccine safety. Meanwhile, measles has gained a foothold in communities around the United States.
“RFK Jr is a liar. He lied to me about his anti-vax Samoa trip,” Senator Ed Markey of Massachusetts said in a social media post over the weekend. Markey was one of the senators who asked Kennedy about the visit during the hearings. “The CDC’s vaccine advisory panel is now stacked with conspiracists and the US is positioned to lose its measles elimination status. RFK Jr. must be removed now.”
In a written statement to the Guardian, Markey added that making false statements to Congress is a federal crime.
Spokespeople for Kennedy at the Department of Health and Human Services did not reply to repeated requests for comment for this story.
Haley Stevens, a Democratic representative from Michigan, said the new reporting by the Guardian and AP shows Kennedy lied to Congress. Stevens, who introduced articles of impeachment against Kennedy in December accusing him of undermining public health and abusing his authority, said misleading Congress is another impeachable offense.
“With measles cases skyrocketing nationwide driven by RFK Jr.’s nonstop stream of conspiracy theories, it’s time for Congress to put politics aside and support my Articles of Impeachment to remove Secretary Kennedy from office and restore Americans’ faith in our public health system,” Stevens said in an email. Stevens’ impeachment effort is considered unlikely to succeed, given that the House is in Republican hands and Democratic leadership reportedly opposes the effort.