Senator Ron Wyden Launches Investigation Into RFK Jr Alleged False Testimony

On November 12, 2026, a top Democratic senator launched an investigation into evidence that United States Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. “unlawfully lied” to Congress during his 2025 confirmation hearings, the Guardian reported.

Key Clinical Takeaways:
• Senators Ron Wyden and Angela Alsobrooks opened an inquiry on November 12, 2026, targeting Children’s Health Defense over records connected to a 2019 trip to Samoa.
• The investigation examines whether Kennedy gave false testimony during his January 2025 Senate confirmation hearings regarding the purpose of that Pacific island visit.
• Children’s Health Defense faces a December 4 deadline to produce requested travel records, communications with Samoan officials, and correspondence with federal agencies.

Letters Contrast Confirmation Testimony

Ron Wyden of Oregon, the incoming chair of the Senate finance committee, is seeking extensive records from Children’s Health Defense (CHD), the non-profit anti-vaccine group Kennedy used to fuel his political rise. This includes all documents related to a 2019 trip Kennedy took to Samoa, the Guardian reported.

“We are beginning an investigation into evidence that Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F Kennedy, Jr unlawfully lied to Congress on multiple occasions,” Wyden said in a letter to the group sent on November 11, 2026, and obtained by the Guardian. The letter was also signed by Angela Alsobrooks, a Democratic senator from Maryland.

During two separate congressional confirmation hearings held in January 2025, Kennedy assured lawmakers that his trip to Samoa bore “nothing to do with vaccines.” Yet, records secured by the Guardian and the Associated Press via an open records lawsuit filed by the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press directly conflicted with that testimony.

In a letter written to the Samoan prime minister in January 2019 before the trip, Kennedy explicitly stated he wanted to study the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine in the Pacific island nation.

Samoa Trip Preceded Outbreak

Following the 2019 journey, a measles outbreak unfolded in the Pacific island nation just months later, resulting in 83 fatalities, predominantly among children under the age of five. Critics and Samoan officials have said Kennedy’s presence as chair and chief legal counsel of CHD emboldened anti-vaccine activists in Samoa and worsened a vaccination crisis.

Kennedy has denied the allegations, maintaining he never gave any public statement about vaccines or discouraged Samoans from getting vaccinated.

“We are deeply concerned by the tactics Kennedy has used – both before and during his tenure as secretary – to stand in the way of children receiving life-saving vaccinations,” Wyden and Alsobrooks wrote in their letter to CHD. “In Samoa and in the United States, unvaccinated children have died tragic and preventable deaths during measles outbreaks.”

Committee Requests CHD Records

The Senate letter requests all documents related to any travel to Samoa by Kennedy or other employees and associates of CHD, along with any communications with Samoan government officials. It also asks for records related to Kennedy’s presidential campaign, his Senate confirmation process, his speech at CHD’s September convention, and all communications between CHD and federal government officials since January 20, 2025.

Children’s Health Defense has been given a deadline of December 4 to comply with the document requests.

“It’s really in their interest now to cooperate in a good faith effort,” Wyden said. He said that failure to comply could prompt the committee or its chair to issue subpoenas to compel the handover of the desired documentation.

According to legal analysts, a Trump-led justice department is unlikely to pursue prosecution, but they said that Kennedy’s remarks could serve as a basis for hearings, an impeachment inquiry, or additional hurdles for the Trump administration.

Disclaimer: The information provided in this article is for educational and scientific communication purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a qualified healthcare provider regarding any medical condition, diagnosis, or treatment plan.