New evidence casts doubt on RFK Jr testimony before Senate

New evidence has emerged that Robert F Kennedy Jr was on a vaccine-related “mission” when he visited Samoa ahead of a deadly measles outbreak in 2019, raising further questions about whether the US health secretary lied to the US Senate when he said the trip had “nothing to do with vaccines”. Records obtained by the Guardian show Kennedy’s colleague told Samoan officials in an email that he and Kennedy were coming as part of a mission to study the island nation’s medical records in the aftermath of a “discontinuity in vaccinations”. “We all look forward to the opportunity to be of service to the people of Samoa with our mission,” Dr Michael Graven wrote. Kennedy was at the time serving as chairman and chief legal counsel of Children’s Health Defense, a nonprofit group known for its anti-vaccine activism . Graven was the group’s chief information officer. Spokespeople for Kennedy at the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) did not respond to messages seeking comment. Kennedy’s trip to the Pacific island nation is among the most heavily criticised activities he undertook before being named health secretary by Donald Trump. Kennedy has frequently claimed that his reason for going to Samoa was not about vaccines and that his visit did not influence people’s decisions on whether to vaccinate. …