Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has admitted to the US Senate that he has reached at least one settlement agreement in which he was accused of misconduct or inappropriate behavior.
After the Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday completed its confirmation hearing for Kennedy’s appointment to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Democrats on the committee sent Kennedy a set of follow-up questions. The list included these two queries:
Yes or no, have you ever reached a settlement agreement with an individual or organization that accused you of misconduct or inappropriate behavior?
Yes or no, have you ever agreed to or been subject to a non-disclosure agreement with any individual or organization?
Kennedy answered “yes” to each question. He did not provide any further details.
During Kennedy’s second confirmation hearing, held on Thursday by the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, Sen. Patty Murray (D-Wash.) raised the issue of personal misconduct. She referred to the allegation that Kennedy had once groped a babysitter. Kennedy denied the accusation. She then asked, “Are there any other instances where you have made sexual advances toward an individual without their consent?” Kennedy replied, “No.”
On Friday morning, Kennedy did not respond to a query from Mother Jones asking, “Will you disclose what those agreements were? What was the misconduct? Who were the individuals or organizations that accused you? Did this involve women who accused you of personal misconduct? Will you release anyone who has an NDA with you related to any of those settlements from that NDA?”
Katie Miller, who has served as a spokesperson for Kennedy, replied, “As a matter of policy, we don’t respond to Mother Jones.”
As of Friday morning, it was unclear whether the Democrats would press Kennedy to disclose more information about any such settlement or NDA.
