Fresh Evidence Contradicts Health Secretary's Congressional Statements
Recently disclosed email communications directly challenge Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s repeated assertions during Senate confirmation hearings that his 2019 journey to Samoa was unrelated to vaccine discussions. The documents, obtained through open records litigation by The Guardian and The Associated Press, provide unprecedented insight into the planning and motivations behind the controversial visit that preceded a devastating measles epidemic.
Internal Communications Reveal Vaccine-Focused Agenda
The email correspondence between U.S. Embassy staff, United Nations representatives, and Kennedy's organization reveals a coordinated effort to arrange meetings with Samoan officials specifically regarding vaccine safety concerns. This contradicts Kennedy's sworn testimony that the trip had "nothing to do with vaccines" when questioned by Democratic Senator Edward Markey during his January 2025 confirmation hearing for Health Secretary.
One particularly damning email from embassy official Antone Greubel to then-Ambassador Scott Brown explicitly states: "The real reason Kennedy is coming is to raise awareness about vaccinations, more specifically some of the health concerns associated with vaccinating (from his point of view)." This internal assessment directly conflicts with Kennedy's public statements about the trip's purpose.
Embassy Staff Involvement Raises Questions
The documents reveal that Benjamin Harding, then a U.S. Embassy employee in Apia, actively facilitated Kennedy's visit, connecting his delegation with Samoan government officials despite embassy protocols. In May 2019 correspondence, a Samoan Ministry of Foreign Affairs staffer requested official biographical notes for Kennedy and his associate Dr. Michael Graven to be presented to the Prime Minister and Health Minister.
UNICEF representative Sheldon Yett alerted embassy officials about Harding's involvement, writing that "the staff member in question seems to have had a role in facilitating this" visit specifically to investigate vaccine safety. Embassy leadership subsequently instructed Harding to cease involvement, though portions of this directive remain redacted in the released documents.
Measles Outbreak Context and Consequences
Kennedy's June 2019 visit occurred during a critical period when Samoa's vaccination program had been suspended for ten months following two infant deaths from improperly prepared MMR vaccines. Vaccination rates had plummeted dramatically during this hiatus. Samoan officials later asserted that Kennedy's presence bolstered anti-vaccine activists ahead of the measles outbreak that ultimately infected thousands and claimed 83 lives, predominantly children under five.
Democratic Senator Ron Wyden, who questioned Kennedy about Samoa during confirmation proceedings, responded forcefully to the new evidence: "Kennedy's anti-vaccine agenda is directly responsible for the deaths of innocent children. Lying to Congress about his role in the deadly measles outbreak in Samoa only underscores the danger he now poses to families across America."
Conflicting Narratives and Ongoing Controversy
Kennedy has maintained multiple explanations for his Samoa visit, initially claiming he went to introduce a medical data system, later stating his purpose wasn't vaccine-related, and acknowledging he "ended up having conversations with people, some of whom I never intended to meet." However, the newly released emails show his organization, Children's Health Defense, was seeking meetings with Samoan leadership specifically to discuss vaccine concerns months before the trip.
During the subsequent measles outbreak, Kennedy wrote to Samoa's prime minister suggesting without evidence that the infections resulted from defective vaccines. Meanwhile, Lyn Redwood, who as Children's Health Defense president helped arrange Kennedy's Samoa connections, now works at the Department of Health and Human Services on vaccine safety issues.
Broader Implications for Public Health Policy
These revelations emerge as Kennedy, serving as Health Secretary under President Donald Trump, has used his position to overhaul federal immunization guidance and promote skepticism about vaccine safety. Concurrently, measles outbreaks across multiple U.S. states threaten to reverse decades of progress toward eliminating the highly contagious disease, with South Carolina alone reporting over 875 recent infections.
The State Department released these heavily redacted emails following a freedom of information lawsuit supported by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. A department spokesperson declined to comment on the specific records, citing standard policy against discussing personnel matters. Harding left embassy employment in July 2020 but remains in Samoa according to his professional profiles.
Taylor Harvey, speaking for Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee, emphasized that "casual, false denials to Congress will not be swept under the rug," noting that making false statements to Congress constitutes a criminal offense. The Health and Human Services Department did not respond to inquiries regarding these latest disclosures.
