Wyden Opens Probe Into Whether RFK Jr. Lied to Congress on Samoa Trip
Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden has opened an investigation into whether Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress about his 2019 Samoa trip. Wyden demanded records from Children's Health Defense, and HHS called the claim defamatory.
Sen. Ron Wyden of Oregon, the incoming chair of the Senate finance committee, has opened an investigation into whether US Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. lied to Congress during his 2025 confirmation hearings, according to a letter sent Wednesday to the group Children's Health Defense (CHD).
The probe centers on a 2019 trip Kennedy made to Samoa. A measles outbreak killed 83 people there months later, mostly children under age five.
"We are beginning an investigation into evidence that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy, Jr unlawfully lied to Congress on multiple occasions," Wyden wrote. Sen. Angela Alsobrooks, a Maryland Democrat, also signed the letter.
What the letters show
In two confirmation hearings in January 2025, Kennedy told senators his Samoa visit had "nothing to do with vaccines".
Letters obtained through an open records lawsuit brought by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press appear to contradict that. In one, written to the Samoan prime minister in January 2019, Kennedy said he wanted to study the measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the country. He used the word "vaccine" or "vaccination" eight times.
The prime minister replied a month later. He said Samoa could benefit from CHD's assessment of MMR vaccines and invited Kennedy to visit.
Records sought from CHD
Wyden is asking CHD for extensive records, including all documents tied to the trip. Kennedy made the trip as CHD's chair and chief legal counsel. CHD is the anti-vaccine nonprofit he has used to build his political profile.
Since taking office, Kennedy has hired former CHD employees. One is Lyn Redwood, a former CHD president who made early outreach to Samoa on his behalf and now works at the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
Critics, including Samoan officials, say Kennedy's presence emboldened anti-vaccine activists and worsened a vaccination crisis. Kennedy has denied this. He says he never made a public statement about vaccines in Samoa or discouraged anyone from getting vaccinated.
CHD did not respond to requests for comment. HHS did not immediately comment on the new inquiry.
HHS earlier said the visit was "unrelated to vaccines" and that any claim he lied under oath or to Congress was "not only false but outright defamatory". It has not explained why his testimony differed from his letter to the Samoan prime minister.
The senators framed the inquiry around child deaths. "We intend to hold Secretary Kennedy accountable for the grave harm he has caused to vulnerable children," they wrote, adding that false statements to Congress are "a crime that undermines the Senate's ability to fulfill its constitutional duties."
