Washington, DC — Newly obtained emails cast doubt on Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s sworn testimony to Congress that his 2019 trip to Samoa had “nothing to do with vaccines,” according to documents reviewed by The Guardian and the Associated Press.
During Senate confirmation hearings in 2025, Kennedy repeatedly denied that vaccine concerns motivated his visit, which occurred months before a deadly measles outbreak in Samoa that killed 83 people, mostly children. However, emails from U.S. Embassy and United Nations staff suggest the trip was linked to Kennedy’s long-standing vaccine skepticism and coordinated with anti-vaccine activists and Samoan officials.
The records show Kennedy’s organization, Children’s Health Defense, worked to arrange meetings with Samoan leaders while the country’s vaccination program was halted following the deaths of two infants from improperly prepared vaccines. Embassy communications described Kennedy’s purpose as raising concerns about vaccine safety, contradicting his later statements to lawmakers.
At least one U.S. senator said the disclosures raise the possibility that Kennedy misled Congress. Sen. Ron Wyden, D-Ore., said the emails show Kennedy’s anti-vaccine agenda contributed to deadly consequences and warned that false statements to Congress carry legal implications.
The documents were released following an open-records lawsuit and come amid renewed measles outbreaks in multiple U.S. states. As health secretary under President Trump, Kennedy has used his authority to scale back federal vaccine recommendations and question vaccine safety, drawing criticism from public health experts.
Kennedy has maintained that he never advised Samoans against vaccination and that his visit did not influence immunization decisions.
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