Democratic senators, members of the Senate Finance Committee, are requiring more ethical obligational commitments from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. The reason behind this requirement is the worry that his connections with vaccine litigation could possibly create a conflict of interest if he gets the role of health and human services secretary. The senators expressing concern about this are Sen. Elizabeth Warren from Massachusetts and Senate Finance Committee ranking member Ron Wyden from Oregon. The two Senators are particularly worried about RFK Jr.’s ethics agreements, which would see proceeds from vaccine-related lawsuits directed to a family relation.
RFK Jr.’s financial disclosures ahead of a committee election on Tuesday lacked transparency, according to the Senators, which raised eyebrows. Whether RFK Jr. can muster the necessary votes to move forward from the committee to a vote on the full Senate floor remains uncertain. The crux of the debate regarding conflict of interest rests on RFK Jr.’s connections to ‘numerous hundreds of cases’ that he referred to the law firm Wisner Baum. These cases include those related to Merck’s HPV vaccine, Gardasil, as outlined in a written explanation RFK Jr. submitted to the Senate Finance Committee.
There’s an agreement in place which entitles RFK Jr. to a 10% share of the fees that the personal injury law firm generates from those lawsuits, irrespective of whether they are settled, judged, or completed in another manner. RFK Jr.’s initial intention was to hold on to his shares from these settlements. However, within the documents submitted to the committee the previous week, he indicated a shift in this stance and he has decided to bequeath any potential earnings he could make from Gardasil lawsuits to one of his sons.
Further details presented to the Finance Committee show that the revenue would be redirected to RFK Jr.’s son, Conor Kennedy, who is a practicing attorney at Wisner Baum. An updated ethics agreement, yet to be approved, broadens this commitment. RFK Jr. has expressed an intention to relinquish all rights from cases, regardless of whether or not they involve the U.S federal government directly or are of substantial interest to the same.
However, RFK Jr. intends to maintain his rights to receive payments for cases relating to Boeing and certain utility companies in relation to damages caused by wildfires. Warren and Wyden have expressed discomfort at RFK Jr.’s proposed approach to transfer the earnings from these lawsuits to one of his grown-up sons. They described this approach as ‘evidently inadequate’ as it seemingly allows an immediate relative to profit from RFK Jr.’s position, should he become Secretary, as expressed in their joint letter.
The Senators have further voiced that potential conflicts regarding RFK Jr.’s involvement in vaccine lawsuits may go beyond just the issue of fees. Though RFK Jr. insisted in his initial ethics agreement that he is ‘not the attorney on record’ for the cases where Wisner Baum is contesting against Merck, the Senate Finance Committee has found at least five other cases related to the Gardasil litigation where he is seemingly the attorney of record.
The Senators have on their part raised questions on whether all ethics disclosures have been completed, and also criticized what they view as an absence of transparency concerning the number of cases that RFK Jr. referred to Wisner Baum and regarding which specific vaccines were involved. It seems that RFK Jr. prefers this strategy of divesting rather than recusing himself from anything related to vaccines.
RFK Jr. relayed to the committee that he wouldn’t recluse himself from making public comments related to Gardasil, or from vaccine advisory boards, vaccine injury compensation schemes and other related activities. Despite alleged ‘accidental errors,’ RFK Jr. amended his original financial disclosure report on the past Saturday.
The amendment inserted a statement to confirm that he hadn’t received any income from a licensing contract that allowed the use of brand symbols for his ‘Make America Healthy Again’ or MAHA movement. It also shifted the date of his previous payment from the law firm then known as Kennedy & Madonna. He had initially reported an income of $100,000 from this licensing agreement.
The Senators have urged RFK Jr. to promise to recuse himself from all communications and decisions related to vaccines, beyond just Gardasil, and from all issues related to HHS entities where he or his family could have some financial interest. They also requested that RFK Jr. promise not to litigate cases involving vaccines or vaccine injury programs for a minimum of four years after the terminus of his office.