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Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says he will keep his share of proceeds from a lawsuit against drug giant Merck even if he becomes Donald Trump’s top U.S. health official, ethics documents show.
An ethics agreement released Wednesday said: kennedy said he would keep his share of potential profits from the case brought by law firm Wisner Baum against Merck’s Gardasil vaccine, which prevents the human papillomavirus, known as HPV.
“I am entitled to 10 percent of the fees awarded in contingency fee cases referred to the firm,” Kennedy, co-counsel at Wisner Baum, said in a letter to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ top ethics czar.
Kennedy, a vaccine skeptic, who Trump has decided on the position of health secretary in November said he was entitled to retain interests in cases that did not involve the U.S. or in which the state did not have a “direct and substantial interest.”
The ethics documents were released Wednesday as Senate Finance Committee Chairman Mike Crapo announced that Kennedy’s confirmation hearings would be held next Wednesday.
Kennedy, a scion of the famous Democratic political family, emphasized that he had no direct role in the Merck case and promised to avoid anything that could influence the outcome when appointed as Health and Human Services secretary.
The first in a series of cases alleging young people were harmed by Merck’s vaccine will be heard in a Los Angeles court this week. Kennedy first became involved in the legal effort against Gardasil in 2018.
The former Democrat who endorsed this Trump Last year, after launching his own independent bid for the White House, he also said he would step down from his advisory role at Wisner Baum.
In separate financial filings Wednesday with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics, Kennedy disclosed $11.6 million in disclosed income over the past two years, including $8.8 million from his work as an environmental lawyer at Kennedy & Madonna. He promised to quit his job at the company.
Records show Kennedy also received $856,559 from Wisner Baum during the same period. He also held small stakes in biotech companies Crispr Therapeutics and Dragonfly Therapeutics, according to financial disclosures.
The revelations underscore the controversy surrounding Trump’s decision to put a vocal vaccine skeptic and activist in charge of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services – including its 13 departments and agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration and the National Institutes of Health, which have broad influence over drug regulation in the USA.
The delay in Kennedy’s congressional hearing, originally scheduled for this week, was seen by some in his camp as a sign that he may have difficulty getting approval from the key health and finance committees whose approval he needs before a full vote will be in the Senate.
Some senators have raised questions about his record on vaccinations and abortion, among other issues.
The lawsuit against Merck over Gardasil is among several high-profile anti-vaccine lawsuits involving Kennedy. Gardasil is recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention at a dose of 160 million as a routine vaccination for 11- and 12-year-olds and will have been distributed by the end of 2022, according to official statistics. Certain high-risk HPV types can cause cervical cancer.
Kennedy did not respond to requests for comment. Merck said: “Plaintiff’s allegations are without merit and we remain committed to vigorously defending these allegations.”
