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Ethics records show Robert F. Kennedy Jr. plans to keep his share of the profits from a lawsuit with pharmaceutical company Merck even if he becomes Donald Trump’s top U.S. health official. states.
In an ethics agreement announced Wednesday, President Kennedy agreed to a potential award from a lawsuit filed by law firm Wisner Baum against Merck & Co.’s Gardasil vaccine, which prevents the human papillomavirus, known as HPV. He said he would keep his share.
In a letter to the chief ethics czar at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Mr. Kennedy, a co-counsel at Wisner Baum, wrote: “I have 100% of the fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to my firm. “I’m entitled to a percentage,” he said. .
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic whom President Trump nominated as health secretary in November, is entitled to retain interests in cases in which the United States is not involved or in which the state does not have a “direct and substantial interest.” said.
The ethics records were released Wednesday after Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo announced that Kennedy’s confirmation hearing would be held next Wednesday.
Kennedy, a prominent Democratic political scion, has insisted he played no direct role in the Merck scandal and vowed to avoid doing anything that would sway the outcome if he is appointed secretary of Health and Human Services.
The first in a series of lawsuits alleging that young people were injured by the Merck & Co. vaccine will be heard in a Los Angeles court this week. Kennedy first became involved in legal efforts against Gardasil in 2018.
The former Democratic lawmaker, who endorsed Trump after running for the White House as an independent last year, also said he would resign from his consulting job at Wisner Baum.
In separate financial records filed Wednesday with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Mr. Kennedy disclosed disclosures over the past two years, including $8.8 million he earned from his work as an environmental lawyer at Kennedy & Madonna. He revealed his income of $11.6 million. He promised to finish his job at the company.
Records show Mr. Kennedy was also paid $856,559 by Mr. Wisner Baum during the same period. He also held small stakes in biotechnology companies Crispr Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics, according to financial disclosures.
These disclosures put a vocal vaccine skeptic and campaigner in charge of overseeing the U.S. Department of Health, which includes 13 departments and agencies with significant influence over drug regulation, such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health. This highlights the controversy surrounding President Trump’s decision. In the US.
The postponement of Mr. Kennedy’s congressional hearing, originally scheduled for this week, is seen by some as a sign that Mr. Kennedy may struggle to win approval from key health and finance committees. Mr. Kennedy’s support will be needed before the main vote can take place. In the Senate.
Some senators have questioned his record on issues such as vaccines and abortion.
The lawsuit against Merck over Gardasil is one of several high-profile anti-vaccine lawsuits that President Kennedy has been involved in. Gardasil is recommended as a routine injection for 11- and 12-year-olds by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and is expected to be distributed by the end of 2022, according to official figures. Certain high-risk types of HPV can cause cervical cancer.
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. “Plaintiffs’ claims are without merit, and Merck continues to vigorously defend against these claims,” ​​Merck said in a statement.
