New documents refute RFK Jr.'s claim about Samoa trip having nothing to do with vaccines

Newly revealed documents contradict Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s past assertions that his 2019 trip to Samoa was unrelated to vaccine matters. A letter sent by Kennedy to the Samoan prime minister before a devastating measles outbreak explicitly requested to study the nation's measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccines following the deaths of two children. This directly refutes his repeated testimony to Congress during his confirmation hearings, where he maintained the visit had "nothing to do with vaccines." Though Kennedy was not under oath during these hearings, knowingly providing false material testimony to Congress is considered a crime.

Concurrently, a federal judge is scrutinizing renewed efforts to inscribe President Donald J. Trump's name onto the Kennedy Center. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper expressed skepticism regarding the Kennedy Center Board of Trustees' recent resolution to add phrases like "Renovated and Restored by President Donald J. Trump" and to rename the surrounding plaza after him. This follows Judge Cooper's May 2026 order for the removal of Trump's name, ruling its initial placement illegal as only Congress holds the authority to rename the institution. Ohio Democratic Representative Joyce Beatty has filed an emergency motion to block the board's latest move, which she argues defies the previous court order.