Robert F. Kennedy Jr. said in a question announced on Friday that he would sell his interest in litigation for major HPV vaccine manufacturers and sign financial shares. 。
He also revealed that he had reached at least one settlement agreement with a company or individual that accused him of “illegal or inappropriate behavior.” Other details are not provided.
At two confirmation hearing this week, several Democratic Soba members attacked his legal work. He mentioned the financial interests in an ethical agreement provided to Senaters as part of the process of becoming a national health secretary, and in Los Angeles -based human injury law firms, Wiss Baum. He said he would maintain.
Mr. Kennedy claims to Senator Gardaxyl Vaccine, a drug maker that has been injured in the company administered to prevent cervical cancer, which may be caused by human nipples or HPV. He said he sent hundreds of lawsuits to the company for a lawsuit. 。
After a burning grill from the Senator, Kennedy said on Thursday that he abandoned his financial interests but did not explain in detail.
On Friday, he provided additional details to the Senator's question in writing. “My ethics agreement is being revised,” Kennedy wrote. “It stipulates to sell my interest in such a lawsuit through allocation to my non -dependent adult son.”
Kennedy has more than one adult son, one of which is a Wissner Baum lawyer and is attempted to an incident. The biography of a young Kennedy on the company's website is working on a lawsuit that includes claims that drug Zantac caused cancer, and claims to be underlying a wide range of misconduct of the epidemic of opioids. He states that he is also working on cases.
Many litigation, which claims to be harmful to the HPV vaccine, is in the Los Angeles Senior Court. Kennedy promoted his claim using social media. In 2022, he posted a video recruiting additional plaintiffs. Merck stated that the claim had no benefits.
In the California trial, Wiss Baum's lawyer represents a young plaintiff who claims to suffer from blood circulation after receiving an HPV vaccine.
Connor Kennedy and Wiss Baum could not comment. Kennedy's spokeswoman Katie Miller did not immediately respond to comments, including asking anyone who would be given the litigation.
Kennedy's interest in the lawsuit is unknown. In his first ethics agreement, he stated, “I have the right to receive 10 % of the fees given by the emergency fees for the company.” He wrote that none of them were lawyers.
Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democratic member of Massachusetts, criticized the agreement during the Senate Finance, but said he wanted to see an ethical agreement that was revised before the voting on Friday.
She said that Kennedy was worried that he would leave the window open to gain a profit from other anti -back litigation.
If it is confirmed as a secretary of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, Kennedy will have a wide range of authority to decide, including drug approval, safety measures, funds and guidance of national drugs and medical companies and insurance companies.
On Friday, Warren demanded that he would refrain from refraining from litigation against entrepreneurs who had been regulated for four years after leaving the post.
“It is also important that the revised ethics agreement uses the role of the Health Secretary to open a water gate for more anti -vaccine litigation and cannot get cash after taking office,” Warren wrote in a statement.
After this week's consecutive confirmation hearing, it is up to the Senate Finance Committee to decide whether to completely vote for Kennedy's nomination to the floor. Senator Bill Cassidi in Louisiana, an influential Republican member and committee member, is clearly struggling with the voting method. Committee voting is likely to be next week.
If doctors, Cassidi, vote for Kennedy and the Democratic Party does not vote for him, Republican leaders may need to use the procedure tactics to advance their nomination. Other Republican members, including the Senator Mitch McConnel, the survivors of the Polio and the former Republican Republican, also seem to be worried about Kennedy. In a thoroughly split Senate, Kennedy has only three votes to win the final confirmation.
Kennedy, a former lawyer and part of the lawyer team who ruled $ 289 million against agricultural giants Monsanto, cannot be made through laws in the past, but by the challenge of a court. He talked about his beliefs.
“You can't do it through parliament, but it is a market that can be used by lawyers, and it is a market that corrects the problem, not the government. He can do it, “he said in a podcast during the 2024 presidential election.
The ethics rules prohibit government officials from their decisions from their own decisions and prohibit the sharing of specific wealth with a spouse or minor children. In these laws and regulations, such prohibitions do not extend to adult children.
Democratic members are hoping to ask a follow -up question to clarify a small number of Kennedy's answer, according to two Democratic assistants.
For example, in his response to a settlement with inappropriate behavior, Kennedy did not clarify the name of the person involved in reconciliation and reconciliation. Kennedy is likely to be asked for additional details.
Kennedy was accused of sexual harassment and assault by Eliza Couney in the 1990s. In a Thursday hearing in front of the Senate Committee on health, education, labor, and pensions, Senator Patty Malay, a Democratic member of Washington, asked Kennedy about the incident.
“When you face this accusation, you say you are not a church boy, you quoted, and you quoted, there are so many skeletons in my closet. After that, he sent a text message to Miss Counie and showed that he had no memory of what you explained.
“No, I didn't,” Kennedy said. He added that the account was revealed. Malay asked why he apologized. “I apologized for something else,” he replied.
Murray said that it wasn't her understanding and moved to other questions.
