Freshly released State Department emails are casting a long shadow over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s 2019 trip to Samoa, a visit that came just before a deadly measles outbreak and that he recently insisted under oath had nothing to do with vaccines. The correspondence suggests the trip was at least partly about vaccine concerns, and it has reignited scrutiny of the health secretary's long record on immunization policy. Samoan officials and U.S. lawmakers say the newly public records raise pointed questions about how outside players may have contributed to the island's collapse in vaccination coverage.
Documents Challenge Kennedy's 'Nothing to Do With Vaccines' Defense
Emails and internal notes show embassy and U.N. staff at the time describing Kennedy's visit as linked to vaccine skepticism, not just to the rollout of a medical data system, according to The Guardian. In one message, a senior embassy official wrote that "the real reason Kennedy is coming is to raise awareness about vaccinations," the records state. That internal readout cuts directly against Kennedy's repeated sworn testimony on Jan. 30, 2025, when he told senators during his confirmation hearing that the 2019 trip "had nothing to do with vaccines."
Embassy Employee Helped Open Doors in Samoa
The correspondence also shows a U.S. embassy staffer in Apia, Benjamin Harding, forwarding requests and helping line up meetings between Kennedy's delegation and Samoan government offices, according to reporting by the San Francisco Chronicle. Harding, who left the embassy in 2020, was noted in contemporaneous UNICEF and embassy notes as being involved in a personal capacity. Organizers in Samoa copied Kennedy and Children's Health Defense staff on outreach to the prime minister's office, the disclosed email chains show.
The Human Cost Behind the Paper Trail
The measles epidemic that hit Samoa in 2019 sickened thousands and killed 83 people, most of them young children, according to international health reviews. A published assessment in PubMed documents how emergency medical teams responded and details the outbreak's toll. Samoan officials say Kennedy's visit amplified anti-vaccine messaging at a particularly fragile moment. The island's director-general of health told reporters that Kennedy misled senators when he pushed back on the causes of the outbreak, according to AP News.
Why the Fight Over an Old Trip Matters Now
The emails land at a politically charged time, with Kennedy already serving as the nation's health secretary and overseeing the federal agency that sets vaccine policy. He was sworn in after a narrowly divided Senate confirmed him in February 2025, an event covered by PBS NewsHour. Meanwhile, measles has resurfaced in parts of the United States, a backdrop that public health experts say makes the governance questions raised by the emails especially consequential, as reported by The Guardian.
Political Fallout and Questions About False Statements
Democratic lawmakers moved quickly to respond. Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden labeled the disclosures damning, and Senate aides publicly noted that lying to Congress is a crime, comments that have fueled talk of further review. AP News detailed the reaction on Capitol Hill and the push for accountability from senators who had pressed Kennedy during his confirmation hearings.
Records Surfaced After Lawsuit Forced Release
The State Department turned over the emails only after an open-records lawsuit, and many of the messages arrived heavily redacted. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the chain of custody and how the emails circulated among embassy and U.N. staff now sit at the center of questions about who arranged the meetings and whether warnings were raised in real time. A State Department spokesperson has declined to comment on personnel matters, and the records indicate that the Department of Health and Human Services did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
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