Documents Contradict Kennedy's Testimony on Samoa Visit Ahead of Measles Outbreak

WASHINGTON — Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told Congress during his contentious confirmation hearing last year that his 2019 trip to Samoa had "nothing to do with vaccines." Newly obtained documents now reveal he wrote to the Samoan prime minister just weeks earlier specifically requesting to study the Pacific island nation's measles, mumps and rubella vaccines following the deaths of two children who had received them.

The letter, dated January 20, 2019, was obtained through a lawsuit against the State Department filed with assistance from the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. In it, Kennedy—who then led the anti-vaccine nonprofit Children's Health Defense—used the words "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times as he proposed his team conduct "a detailed health informatics assessment in Samoa of what happened with your MMR vaccines."

"I am writing this letter to you in the hope that we might be helpful to the people of your great nation," Kennedy wrote, adding that he believed the deaths could have resulted from manufacturing issues.

The prime minister responded a month later, expressing enthusiasm for the proposed visit.

In contrast, during Senate confirmation hearings, Kennedy repeatedly denied any vaccine-related purpose for the trip. When Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden asked about Samoa, Kennedy replied: "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 following day, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Edward Markey received a similar response: "My purpose in going down there had nothing to do with vaccines."

The discrepancy has reignited controversy over Kennedy's honesty during his confirmation process. Wyden, the top Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, said he will press Republican colleagues to refer the matter to the Justice Department and vowed to hold Kennedy accountable if Democrats retake the Senate in November elections.

"There are consequences for lying to Congress," Wyden said.

The Department of Health and Human Services rejected the characterization of Kennedy's statements as false. "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 said in a statement. Kennedy was not under oath during his confirmation hearing, though knowingly providing material false testimony to Congress carries potential criminal penalties regardless.

Kennedy's visit occurred during a tumultuous period in Samoa. In July 2018, two young children died after receiving an MMR vaccine that had been improperly prepared by nurses who were later criminally charged and pleaded guilty to manslaughter. The Samoan government halted all vaccinations for 10 months, causing rates to plummet dramatically.

During that gap, Children's Health Defense began contacting Samoan officials. Kennedy, accompanied by his wife actress Cheryl Hines and colleague Michael Graven, traveled to Samoa in May and June 2019. By then, vaccinations had resumed and Samoa's top health official had announced that human error—rather than a vaccine defect—caused the children's deaths.

Nevertheless, vaccination rates remained dangerously low. Months later, measles swept through the island nation, killing 83 people, the vast majority children under 5.

Public health experts have said their efforts to combat the outbreak were hampered by anti-vaccine activists, with some pointing to Kennedy's visit as having emboldened the movement.

Kennedy won confirmation in February after a closely divided Senate vote of 52-48, with Louisiana Republican Sen. Bill Cassidy—himself a physician who strongly advocates vaccination—providing crucial support. Cassidy said at the time that Kennedy promised not to change certain vaccine policies, including maintaining a vaccine advisory committee "without changes."

Those assurances proved short-lived. Within months of taking office, Kennedy ousted all 17 members of that committee and appointed his own advisers.

"The commitments that were made to me have been violated," Cassidy said on CBS's "Face the Nation" in June.

Among the senators voting on Kennedy's confirmation, Maine's independent Sen. Angus King opposed his appointment. Republican Sen. Susan Collins supported it, citing Kennedy's assurances despite her longstanding disagreement with him on vaccines. A spokesperson said Collins has no comment on whether the latest disclosures have changed her view.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment, and the Samoan prime minister's office did not reply to inquiries.

Attorneys said the documents could provide grounds for congressional hearings, investigations, or even an impeachment inquiry. However, such action remains unlikely in the current Republican-controlled Congress, which largely aligns with President Donald Trump's administration.